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4 




The Ministry of the Spirit 


And I will pray the Father, and he 
shall give you another Comforter, 
that he may abide with you for- 
ever. — Jesus. 


I 


THE MINISTRY 
OF THE SPIRIT 



“be filled with the spirit’’ 


REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSN. 
Washington, D. C. 

SOUTH BEND, IND. 




NEW YORK CITY 



■:rv 



Copyright, 1914, by 

Review and Herald Publishing Association 
Washington, D. C. 


Jl/L 31 1914 


©CI.A3749G4 


CHAPTER HEADINGS 

I. Introduction 

II. The Need of Power .... 
HI. The Power of the Spirit 

IV. Christ and the Spirit 

V. The Spirit in the Old Testament 

VI. The Spirit in the New Testament . 

VII. The Promise of the Spirit . 

VII I. The Advent of the Spirit 

IX. The Paraclete 

X. A Dream 

XI. The Spirit Presiding in the Church . 
XII. Names and Emblems 
XIH. Conditions of Spirit Filling 

XIV. Thirst 

XV. Prayer 

XVI. Unity 

XVII. Motives and Humility . . . . 

XVIII. The Tongue 

XIX. Reading . . . . . 

XX. Hating Sin 

XXL Obedience 

XXII. Faith 

XXIII. The Spirit and the Word 

XXIV. Communion of the Spirit 

XXV. The Unpardonable Sin 

XXVI. Fruits of the Spirit 
XXVI I. The Gifts of the Spirit 
XXVI II. The Latter Rain .... 
XXIX. Results of Spirit Filling 
XXX. Personal Soul Winning . 

XXXI. Conclusion 


PAGE 

II 

17 

23 

30 

37 

42 

47 

54 

60 

68 

75 

83 

92 

98 

103 

III 

115 
1 19 
126 
132 
136 
144 
149 
156 
162 

175 

182 

187 

195 

203 

216 


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PREFACE 


1% yf' AN by nature is “ without strength,” Satan’s 
captive, a slave to sin. He is able to conquer 
the sea. Though its bosom is lashed to fury by vio- 
lent storms, he navigates the boundless expanse in 
safety. He turns his attention to the heavens, and 
searches out the mysteries of the stars, and traces 
their orbits with precision. He harnesses the light- 
ning and makes it his messenger to far-off climes. 
He studies the rocks, and gains from them their 
names and laws. By intellectual force, and marvel- 
ous inventions, he subdues the face of the world, and 
compels the forces of nature to be his servants. He 
makes laws by which nations are able to govern mil- 
lions of subjects. He institutes war, which destroys 
empires, blots out dynasties, and changes the map of 
the world. In short, he executes all that is included 
in history, and the marvelous achievements about us, 
showing his tremendous energy in almost everything 
that stirs the silence, and changes the conditions of 
the world. 

But, though able to subdue kingdoms and conquer 
the forces of nature, he cannot conquer himself ; he 
cannot of himself restrain his own passions and im- 
pulses. He stands humbled and vanquished by sin, 

[7] 


8 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


its slave and lawful captive. Neither can he speak 
peace and deliverance to other troubled, burdened 
souls, enslaved and subjugated by sin. If delivered, 
he can only exclaim, with the apostle Paul, By the 
grace of God I am what I am.” The heavenly bodies 
follow with the utmost precision their appointed orbit. 
They have no power to do otherwise. But man has 
the power to overstep the moral boundary of his be- 
ing, and deviate from that which is right. He has 
within him a power, the law of sin and death, which 
is continually urging him to do so. 

But there is help for him. There is One who is 
mighty to save, who, through the power of the Spirit, 
is able to cope with sin, change the carnal heart, trans- 
form the life, and make those who have been the 
slaves of sin more than conquerors. The believer in 
Christ has been quickened, resurrected from the dead, 
and knows the exceeding greatness of his power, and 
understands from experience what it is to conquer 
temptation, and live the victorious life of faith, 
triumphing through the Spirit over the powers of 
darkness. 

It is to direct attention to the many promises of 
the Scripture concerning the gift of the Holy Spirit 
as an abiding guest in the church and the direct agency 
in our personal deliverance from sin that I have 
written on this question. No effort has been made 


I 


Preface 9 

to treat the subject in an exhaustive or technical man- 
ner. I have tried only to make practical the thoughts 
presented, and, having studied the promises in the 
Scripture to give the Spirit to the believer, have en- 
deavored to point out some of the things which hinder 
the working of the Spirit in the transformation of 
the life. To deal properly with the subject of the 
Holy Spirit one must necessarily deal with sin. If, 
as a result, some are helped to a higher Christian 
experience, to a deeper consecration, and led to re- 
ceive the “ promise of the Spirit through faith ” in 
greater fullness, the effort will not have been in vain. 

G. B. T. 


The Christian’s Guide 


“ Holy Spirit, faithful Guide, 

Ever near the Christian’s side ; 

Gently lead us by the hand, 

Pilgrims in a desert land ; 

Weary souls fore’er rejoice. 

When they hear that sweetest voice 
Whisper softly, ‘Wanderer, come! 
Follow me. I’ll guide thee home ! ’ 

“ Ever present, truest Friend, 

Ever near thine aid to lend. 

Leave us not to doubt and fear. 

Groping on in darkness drear; 

When the storms are raging sore. 

Hearts grow faint, and hopes give o’er, 
Whisper softly, ‘Wanderer, come I 
Follow me. I’ll guide thee home 1 ’ 

“ When our days of toil shall cease, 
Waiting still for sweet release, 

Nothing left but heaven and prayer. 
Wondering if our names are there; 
Wading deep the dismal flood. 

Pleading naught but Jesus’ blood. 
Whisper softly, ‘Wanderer, come I 
Follow me, I’ll guide thee home I ’ ” 


[lo] 


CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 

S PIRITUAL power is the heritage of every Chris- 
tian. It is his to know the exceeding greatness 
of God’s power toward the believer, and to be more 
than a conqueror in his struggles with the powers of 
darkness. Just before his ascension, Jesus said to his 
disciples, “ But ye shall receive power, after that the 
Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be wit- 
nesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, 
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the 
earth.” Acts i : 8. 

The fullness of the Spirit here promised means 
spiritual power and victory to the believer; its dearth 
means weakness and defeat. The indwelling pres- 
ence of the Spirit “ is the shepherd’s mark upon the 
flock of the Lord Jesus, distinguishing them from the 
rest of the world. It is the goldsmith’s stamp on the 
genuine sons of God, separating them from the dross 
and mass of false professors.” It is the king’s own 
seal on those who are his peculiar people, proving 
them to be his own property. It is the pledge which 
the Redeemer gives to his believing disciples, while 
they are in the body, of the full redemption yet to 
come in the resurrection when the dead in Christ shall 
live again. We are “ sealed with that Holy Spirit of 
promise, which is the earnest [pledge] of our inherit- 
ance until the redemption of the purchased possession.” 
Eph. 1 : 13, 14. 


[II] 


12 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

I believe it to be true that the greatest need of 
God’s people today is not more theory about the truth, 
but a greater fullness of the Holy Spirit. It is not 
more light as to what is Christian duty, but more 
power to do what is known to be duty. It is not 
more theory about the message and work of God that 
we need, but more of the power of the Spirit to preach 
the gospel. 

That there is need of deeper spirituality and more 
fervent zeal in the church, not alone with the laity, 
but with the ministry as well, all must readily admit. 
Apostolic power, though freely promised, is far from 
being fully realized. With far too many, it is a the- 
ory rather than a living experience. 

God’s watchmen need this heavenly anointing. 
They may preach to the dead bones in the valley, but 
unless the breath of God gives life, their work will 
be in vain. The minister is an ambassador of Christ. 
He is one intrusted with the ministry of reconcilia- 
tion. God is engaged in the work of reconciling a 
world given over to rebellion. The minister is sent, in 
God’s stead, with terms of peace. This is a work so 
great and so exceedingly difficult that all the treaties 
and peace compacts of nations are as nothing in com- 
parison. This high and holy calling of reconciling a 
sinner to God can never accomplish its mission through 
anything but deep spirituality and earnest piety. 

“We have heard much of late about a learned min- 
istry, and God forbid we should ever be afflicted by 
so great an evil as an unlearned one. We have been 
often reminded of the necessity of an educated min- 
istry; but in this case, as in every other, men must 


Introduction 


13 


be educated for their vocation. But then that educa- 
tion must be strictly appropriate and specific. We 
are very properly told from many quarters that we 
can do nothing without a pious ministry. Nothing 
can be more true, nor can any truth bearing upon this 
subject be more momentous; for of all the curses 
which God ever pours from the vials of his wrath 
upon a nation which he intends to scourge, there is 
not one so fearful as giving them up to an unholy 
ministry. I trust our churches will ever consider piety 
as the first and most essential qualification' in their 
pastors, for which talents, genius, learning, and elo- 
quence would and could be no substitutes. It will be 
a dark and evil day when personal godliness shall be 
placed second to anything else in those who serve at 
the altar of God .’’ — ” An Earnest Ministry” page 

A cold, formal ministry may, through learning, elo- 
quence, and logic, make men think; but a ministry 
vitalized by the Holy Spirit will stir men’s hearts and 
make them feel as well as think. No power can 
quicken a dead soul but that which brought Jesus from 
the tomb. Rom. 8: ii. 

That which is the need of the ministry, is the need 
also of the laity. We have entered upon uncommon 
times. Wolves are masquerading in sheep’s clothing; 
new and old controversies commingle ; dangerous her- 
esies, dressed in the livery of heaven, seek admission 
into the church. A power from beneath is exerting 
a strange, bewitching power everywhere. There are 
many “ advanced thinkers,” progressive theologians,” 
men who are known as profound scholars,” who 
exalt reason and bow low at her shrine. The ten 


14 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and, in fact, 
the whole Bible are regarded as a little too exacting, 
and are discounted before the people. The chill of 
skepticism and unbelief is perceptibly felt. Some en- 
lightening, illuminating power is surely needed. The 
church is traveling over enchanted ground. Many of 
the elect of God, who truly believe the Word, have' 
been peering through the fog of unbelief about them 
for several decades, looking for the return of the 
Bridegroom from the wedding. Some have become 
drowsy, and some are fast asleep. The cares of the 
world, the love of money and pleasure, are choking 
the word in the hearts of some, and no fruit is brought 
to perfection. A few are awake, but these are in 
danger of being thought “ peculiar,” “ extreme,” 
” good men or women, but unpractical.” Without 
doubt the holy unction promised by our Lord in the 
upper room, is the greatest need in every church today. 
“ And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you 
another Comforter, that he may abide with you for- 
ever.” John 14:16. 

It is not some demonstration for which we are to 
look. “ The kingdom of God cometh not with out- 
ward show.” Luke 17:20, margin. 

“ Take a Leyden jar that is not charged with elec- 
tricity. You may handle it freely and without care. 
Now place the jar for a few minutes in contact with 
an electrical machine. What is the result? The con- 
tact has not produced any visible change in the jar; 
to all outward appearance it is just as it was before, 
a simple glass jar partly coated with tin foil and hav- 
ing some metal attachments. But touch it carelessly. 


Introduction 


15 


and you are at once made aware that a great change 
has taken place. You receive a shock, perhaps slight, 
perhaps severe enough to kill you. What has caused 
it? — The invisible electricity with which the jar has 
been charged. 

“ Precisely in the same way let a church that is 
without influence or eflfectiveness in the community be 
filled with the Holy Spirit, and, although there may 
be no external change, although the services may be 
the same in form and esthetic value, although its 
preaching may touch no fresh themes and may be 
uttered by the same voice, yet every one who comes 
within its walls will feel the divine influence. No new 
methods, no new workers, no new instrumentalities, 
it may be; but the old methods, the old workers, the 
old instrumentalities, filled with a new life and power. 
Such a church will make its influence felt throughout 
the town or city where it is established. It will be a 
spiritual generator, and every member will be a live 
wire, transmitting the divine life to all whom he meets. 
The weakest disciple will become a channel of this 
power ; the indifferent will be aroused ; the careless 
will be moved, souls will be saved .” — ''Spiritual 
Power at Work/^ page 2^. 

When Saladin looked at the sword of Richard 
Coeur de Lion, he is said to have wondered that a 
blade so ordinary should have wrought such mighty 
deeds. But the English king bared his arm and said, 
“ It is not the sword that did these things ; it is the 
arm of Richard.” 

In like manner we may, through the Spirit, be 
the instrument of God in the conquest of sin. We 


16 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


may be as spiritually dry as was Gideon’s fleece — 
possessing no power, no life, going to prayer meeting 
but expecting nothing and getting nothing. But let 
the dew of the Holy Spirit fall upon us, and a won- 
derful change is seen. Where once there was drought, 
there is seen moisture; where there was no sign of 
life, the dry bones live again; where there was only 
weakness, there is seen the manifestations of power; 
where there was no earnestness or burden of soul, 
the zeal of God consumes us. 

As we read the farewell discourse of our Saviour 
to his disciples in the upper room, just before he was 
to die on the shameful cross, and bring to an end his 
personal work on earth, we are impressed with the ' 
fact that just as clearly as he foretold his return to 
the Father he announced the coming of another 
“ Comforter,” or “ Advocate,” whose presence is 
promised to the church till her warfare is accom- 
plished and she becomes the church triumphant. This 
was the burden of his message to the disciples in his 
farewell discourse to them. 

The Spirit of God is that unseen yet mighty agency 
which imparts spiritual life and power to the human 
soul. Without it men are spiritually dead, and Chris- 
tianity is but a mere form. “ Now if any man have 
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Rom. 
8:9. ** As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they 
are the sons of God.” Verse 14. The Holy Spirit is 
the connecting link between the throne of God and the 
human heart, regenerating, sanctifying, and purifying 
the soul. 


CHAPTER II 


THE NEED OF POWER 

MERSON says, “ Life is a search after power.” 

That which men most long for is power, and, in 
fact, the real measure of manhood is in its units of 
power. The things we eat, the things we wear, books, 
pictures, institutions, machinery, wealth, represent, in 
some form or degree, power, either physical, intel- 
lectual, or moral. Educational institutions are valu- 
able, not in proportion to the money expended in the 
buildings or equipment, but in proportion to the men- 
tal power which they can stimulate, and the great 
thinkers they can produce. Churches are valuable, 
not for the outlay in the buildings or splendid forms 
of worship, but in proportion as they are centers of 
moral power for the regenerating of individuals, and 
their salvation from the forces of evil. 

The great need of the church individually today is 
spiritual power. We fail to do what we know is right 
because we are spiritually weak. For this power to 
overcome temptation, the heart of the true believer 
yearns and fervently prays. Without this our code 
of moral ethics is of little value. The heathen have a 
religion, but it is a religion without power, and as a 
result the millions who blindly and ignorantly wor- 
ship at the pagan shrines are as degraded and miser- 
able as if they had no religion. 

But Christianity is a power. It is God’s almighty 

[17] 


2 


18 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


power. It is the same power that made the worlds, 
and swings them in space. Paul says, “ I am not 
ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power 
of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to 
the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Rom. i : i6. 
Jesus, the great head of the church, and the “ Cap- 
tain of our salvation,” is declared to be the Son of 
God “ with power.” Rom. i : 4. The chief thought 
of the religious leaders of his time was to maintain 
certain forms of worship, and propagate certain sys- 
tems of doctrine. No real power was seen in the 
life. There was nothing to create right desires and 
aflPections, or to influence other lives and transform 
them. Their worship was dead; the temple, where 
the Shekinah of glory was once seen, was left unto 
them desolate. But Jesus did not teach as did the 
scribes and Pharisees; he infused spiritual life and 
power into his doctrine. Truth was made dynamic, 
and clothed with life. To his followers he imparted 
power against disease and over all devils.” To the 
seventy who returned with joy from their labors, he 
said, “ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on ser- 
pents and scorpions, and over all the power of the 
enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” 
Luke 10: 19. 

This heavenly power is for the church battling with 
the powers of darkness today. But too often, as 
another has said, churches are like factories, splen- 
didly built and furnished with the most perfect of 
modern machinery, but having neither steam engine, 
water wheel, nor dynamo.” The power of the church 
is not materialistic, but supernatural and invisible. 
And as the chilling clouds of doubt and unbelief gather 


The Need of Power 


19 


about us, and a hellish power from beneath is seizing 
hold upon the world in preparation for its final over- 
throw, how much we need the potential agency of 
invisible, spiritual power! 

A spiritual preacher, now dead, once said: “If we 
would draw the people to church that we may win 
them to Christ, the first question with scores of 
Christians nowadays is, What new turn can be given 
to the kaleidoscope of entertainment? What new stop 
can we insert in our organ, and what richer and more 
exquisite strain can we reach by our quartet? What 
fresh novelty in the way of social attraction can we 
introduce? Or what new coruscation can be let off 
from the pulpit to dazzle and captivate the people? 
O, for a faith to abandon utterly these devices of nat- 
uralism, and to throw the church without reserve upon 
the power of the supernatural ! Is there not some 
higher degree in the Holy Spirit’s tuition into which 
we can graduate our young ministers, instead of send- 
ing them to a German university for their last touches 
of theological culture? Is there not some reserve 
power , yet treasured up in the church, which is the 
body of Christ, — some unknown or neglected spiritual 
force which we can lay hold of, and so get courage 
to fling away forever these frivolous expedients on 
which we have so much relied for carrying on the 
Lord’s work ?” — ''The Tzvofold Life,” pages 13, 14. 

Without the power born of the Holy Spirit, forms 
and ceremonies are valueless. The bodily organs may 
be ever so perfect, but if the Spirit of Life has been 
grieved and withdrawn, the church is no longer a 
living body, but a spiritual corpse. 

“ In a word, so vital and indispensable is the min- 


20 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

istry of the Spirit that without it nothing else will 
avail. Some trust in creeds, and some in ordinances; 
some suppose that the church’s security lies in a sound 
theology, and others locate it in a primitive simplicity 
of government and worship; but it lies in none of 
these, desirable as they are. The body may be as to 
its organs perfect and entire, wanting nothing; but 
simply because the Spirit has been withdrawn from 
it, it has passed from a church into a corpse. As one 
has powerfully stated it : ‘ When the Holy Spirit with- 
draws, ... he sometimes allows the forms which he 
has created to remain. The oil is exhausted, but the 
lamp is still there; prayer is offered, and the ^Bible 
read ; churchgoing is not given up, and to a certain 
degree the service is enjoyed. In a word, religious 
habits are preserved, and, like the corpses found at 
Pompeii, which were in a perfect state of preserva- 
tion and in the very position in which death had sur- 
prised them, but which were reduced to ashes by con- 
tact with the air, so the blast of trial, of temptation, 
or of final judgment will destroy these spiritual 
corpses.’” — A. J. Gordon, D. D. 

The same writer says in another place : “ Do we not 
know of churches once fervently evangelical which 
are now lying under the doom of desertion by the 
Spirit? The writer thinks, with all charity, that he 
has seen such; churches upon which the Lord’s sen- 
tence has gone forth, ' Thou hast a name that thou 
livest, and art dead.’ The body may still remain, in- 
deed, the creeds and confessions may continue intact, 
and the forms of worship may even be multiplied and 
vastly ' enriched ’ as the years go on, but these out- 


21 


The Need of Power 

ward forms are only memorials of a departed glory, 
like the death masks which preserve the mold of fea- 
tures which have long since crumbled into dust.” 

This spiritual analysis is given of the church as a 
whole, and in a large measure is a sad yet true diag- 
nosis. And while we are profoundly grateful for the 
wonderful power of the Spirit of God in the carry- 
ing forward of this last, great gospel message from 
the beginning, and thankful for its triumph over seem- 
ingly insurmountable obstacles, especially in lands 
where difficulties are such that only a church strength- 
ened by the Spirit of God could advance, or even 
exist, yet we confess there is a dearth. Our churches 
need more of God’s Spirit. The death mask is upon 
far too many. The form without power is seen. 
What is needed is the old power the apostles had. 
The following solemn instruction has come to us : — 

“ My heart is filled with anguish when I think of 
the tame messages borne by some of our ministers, 
when they have a message of life and death to bear. 
The ministers are asleep ; the lay members are asleep ; 
and a world is perishing in sin. May God help his 
people to arouse and walk and work as men and 
women on the borders of the eternal world. Soon an 
awful surprise is coming upon the inhabitants of the 
world. Suddenly, with power and great glory, Christ 
will come. Then there will be no time to prepare to 
meet him. Now is the time for us to give the warn- 
ing message .” — '‘Testimonies for the Church” Vol. 
VIII, page 37. 

The watchman asleep on the wall, the people asleep 
inside, and an “ awful surprise ” at hand ! What a 


22 The Ministry of the Spirit 

picture! Surely the energizing power of the Holy 
Spirit is needed. While recognizing God's Spirit all 
the way along, the time has fully come for that greater 
abundance of the Spirit which the Scriptures have en- 
couraged us to look for in the closing struggle of the 
church militant. 

We may consider the church as a temple, of which 
Christ is the chief corner stone, the believers “ lively 
stones.” In this temple, where Christ sits enthroned 
as head, the Shekinah of the Holy Spirit should glo- 
rify, regenerate, vitalize, and control the whole body. 
Here the Spirit must rule; otherwise spiritual death 
and decay will take place. Regeneration is the need 
of the hour, and this is a work which only God, 
through the Holy Spirit, can do. “ If it were only a 
little mending, a little patching, a little turning over of 
a new leaf, then man might do this. But when it is 
a translation, a creation, a resurrection, God must do 
it.” But, though failure may be seen written on all 
that man may attempt to do in his own strength, 
clothed with the power of God through his Spirit he 
is able to do great and mighty things for God. 

“ There is no limit to the usefulness of the one who, 
putting self aside, makes room for the working of 
the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly 
consecrated to God.” — Id., page ip. 

Unlimited usefulness possible ! Surely these are 
encouraging words, and should lead us to seek ear- 
nestly for that enduement of the Holy Spirit which 
the Saviour admonished his disciples to wait for at 
Jerusalem, that, through consecrated effort, we may 
do a work of infinite value in helping and saving souls. 


CHAPTER III 

THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT 

T>UT ye shall receive power, after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be wit- 
nesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, 
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the 
earth.” Acts i : 8. 

“ And, behold, I send the promise of my Father 
upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until 
ye be endued with power from on high.” Luke 24: 49. 

These words are a part of the instruction of our 
Saviour just before he ascended to the throne of his 

Father, and the other Comforter came and took his 

seat in the church. 

The disciples had been with Jesus during his min- 
istry. They had listened to his instruction in the 
temple, as they walked by the way, on the shores of 

Galilee, and in the upper room. They had seen his 

wonderful power manifested in healing the sick, 
cleansing the lepers, and even raising the dead. They 
saw him after his resurrection, and heard him speak 
of the things that pertain to the kingdom of God. 
They finally saw him ascend from Olivet to the place 
of glory and power at the right hand of his Father. 
They talked with the angels concerning his return, 
and “ returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were 
continually, in the temple, praising and blessing God.” 
Yet all this did not constitute power. It did not qual- 

[23] 


24 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


ify them to carry the gospel to the world; but they 
were bidden, “ Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, 
until ye be endued with power from on high.” Luke 
24:49. 

The disciples were to carry the gospel to the world. 
They were to meet persecution, imprisonment, and 
death. The Saviour knew that it was impossible for 
them to accomplish the work before them without this 
heavenly enduement. On the day of Pentecost the 
promise that he would send the Spirit was fulfilled, 
and, having received the promised unction, they went 
forth with power to make known the gospel. They 
were imprisoned, whipped, stoned, and slain. Their 
followers were fed to the wild beasts, and the sand of 
the arena was soaked with their blood; but the word 
of God triumphed. Old Rome, with her pagan idols 
and abominations, has passed away. The dynasty of 
the Caesars has long since sunk into oblivion. Her 
oracles are dumb. Her temples have been destroyed, 
and her laws abolished. She can no longer levy a tax 
on all the world ; but the gospel, through the power of 
the Spirit, has gone to the ends of the earth, and the 
Word of God has been printed in hundreds of lan- 
guages and dialects and scattered to the utmost ex- 
tremity of the habitable globe. 

The word power, as found in the English version 
of the Scriptures, is represented in the Greek Testa- 
ment by several distinct words. One is kratos, which 
signifies strength, or the manifestation of phy-sical 
force. It is from this word that such words as auto- 
crat, plutocrat, and aristocrat are derived. 

Another is exousia, which indicates authority exer- 


25 


The Power of the Spirit 

cised or conferred by a ruler ; as, “ All power is given 
unto me in heaven and in earth.” Matt. 28: 18. “ To 
them gave he power to become the sons of God.” 
John 1 : 12. 

But spiritual, or evangelical, power is designated by 
the word dunamis, as in Luke 24 : 49. The apostle 
Paul uses this word to express the spiritual power of 
the ministry. “ And my speech and my preaching was 
not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in 
demonstration of the Spirit and of power [dunamis'] T 
I Cor. 2 : 4. “ For the preaching of the cross is to 

them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are 
saved it is the power [dunamis] of God.” i Cor. i : 18. 
It is this word dunamis from which dynamite, dy- 
namos, dynamics, dynasty, etc., are derived. 

“If we endeavor to analyze the elements of this 
power in itself, I think we shall fail. It is spiritual 
and invisible. All we can do is to trace the circum- 
stances under which this power is given, and the re- 
sults which flow from it. Indeed, power is in its na- 
ture indescribable. It is known simply by its results. 
Gravitation, that greatest of all material powers, 
ceaselessly active, everywhere potent, is wholly beyond 
our research, or even our conception. Where are 
those cords, stronger than steel, which bind the plan- 
ets to their centers ? Where are those unseen ties that, 
like a universal network, envelop every atom in the 
air, and make it fall to the earth, and not merely to 
the earth, but in a direct line toward the center of the 
earth, though it be thousands of miles away and can 
never be reached? It seems an emblem of God, fill- 
ing all space, operating through all matter. If the 


26 The Ministry of the Spirit 

dream of astronomers be true, that not only second- 
aries surround their planets, and planets their suns, 
but that suns revolve around the center of immense 
systems, and all these centers through the immensity 
of space move around one great center, who can ever 
conceive the magnitude of a force that can thus oper- 
ate through infinite space with precisely the same law 
of attraction for vast worlds and for infinitesimal 
atoms? It is a force never seen, and yet it operates 
alike in the sunshine and in the dark. It is never 
heard, and yet it sends its myriads of worlds singing 
and shining on their way. He who made that power 
by the word of his Spirit gives that Spirit to work in 
us and through us. 

“ Nor is it the only exhibition of power. Consider 
the chemical affinity that draws together the acids and 
the alkalies. With what constant and unseen power 
does it operate! Think of that magnetic power which 
makes the steel filings, though in a mass of dust and 
rubbish and clippings of tin and brass, leave them all 
and fly up and kiss the magnet. It touches that piv- 
oted needle, and lives and treasure are secure upon 
the stormy ocean in the darkest night by its unerring 
guidance. The winds blow ever so fiercely, the cold 
comes ever so freezingly, the waves roll ever so fu- 
riously, and the vessel pitches and sinks as if it would 
be submerged ; and yet that strange influence, unseen, 
unheeded, unfelt even by the most sensitive nerves, 
holds the needle in its place. Who can tell what is 
power? We see it in its efifects, we measure it in its 
results. 

“ So with spiritual power. We cannot tell ‘ whence 


The Power of the Spirit 27 

it cometh, and whither it goeth ; ’ but it breathes upon 
the human spirit : the stormy passions subside ; false- 
hood, fraud, lust, and avarice disappear; and truth, 
purity, meekness, and love reign supreme in the soul. 
It is a transmutation beyond what the philosopher 
sought in the fabled stone whose touch would trans- 
mute into gold. It is a new creation from the breath 
of him who created all worlds and breathed into all 
spirits. Spiritual power is not beauty of presence nor 
dignity of form. It is not learning, nor rhetoric, nor 
logic, nor oratory; but it can use these for its one 
great end. It can burn and shine in the highest pe- 
riods of the most eloquent speaker, and it can thrill in 
the accents of the unlettered man. It can invest the 
words that drop from the mother’s lips, and it can 
wing the lispings of the little child. It can use all 
there is of a human being, and of his acquirements, 
for the glory of God and for the advancement of his 
church. 

“ This spiritual force, in its highest human manifes- 
tation, is ministerial power.* It employs and utilizes 
all other forms as its agents. It uses the power of 
thought, which is immense in its character, — the 
thoughts not only of good men, but of angels and 
of God, — thoughts which were from eternity, and 
thoughts which shall triumph when earth’s history 
shall have closed. It uses the power of language in 
all its multifarious forms. Its tongue of fire is to 
preach among all nations, and to carry to every heart, 
through its own peculiar idiomatic expressions, the 
knowledge of the power and love of God .” — Lee 
tures on Preaching pages 202-204. 


28 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

The foregoing is in harmony with the following 
most encouraging extract from the spirit of proph- 
ecy : — 

“ All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God, 
will be constantly receiving a new endowment of phys- 
ical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of 
heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the 
breath of his own spirit, the life of his own life. The 
Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in 
heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and mul- 
tiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the di- 
vine nature comes to their assistance in the work of 
saving souls. Through cooperation with Christ they 
are complete in him, and in their human weakness they 
are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence .” — "" The 
Desire of Ages” page 82/. 

As we ponder the wonderful promises of the Word 
to give power to the faint, and might to those who 
are without strength, and to enable us to be “ more 
than conquerors ” over the powers of darkness, there 
springs up in the heart an unquenchable desire to see 
this power manifested among the remnant of Israel as 
in apostolic days. We are not especially anxious as to 
the form in which the Spirit’s presence shall be mani- 
fested. God has infinite ways to manifest himself. 
The mode of that manifestation doubtless will change, 
as the times and needs change. But the Spirit is to 
abide with the church till the end of time, and we can- 
not but believe that when this other ‘‘ Advocate,” this 
divine representative of the throne on which sit the 
eternal God and his Son Jesus Christ, has his way in 
the church and in the hearts of all the believers, there 


29 


The Power of the Spirit 

will be unmistakable signs and outward signals of his 
presence among us. 

It is not a question of believing that there is a Holy 
Spirit. He has his place in the fundamentals of our 
faith. But the question is, What place has he in the 
life? We believe that God did inspire prophets in ages 
past ; but these are dead and gone. “ God is not the 
God of the dead, but of the living.” The God who 
through the Spirit inspired and strengthened his serv- 
ants in the past is no less willing to give unto every 
believer now the fullness of his Spirit for service. 


CHAPTER IV 


CHRIST AND THE SPIRIT 

TXTHEN Christ came into the world to redeem the 
race, he stood as the second Adam, with all the 
weaknesses and degeneracy of four thousand years of 
sin resting upon him. He came clothed in human 
nature to fight the battle against sin, as every child 
of God must fight it. He took the nature of man, 
with the possibility of yielding to temptation. And as 
the Son of man, he used no power in battling with 
the powers of darkness that every child of Adam can- 
not use. He said of himself, “ The Son can do noth- 
ing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for 
what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son 
likewise.” John 5 : 19. Again he said, “ I can of 
mine own self do nothing ” (verse 30) ; and again, 
I do nothing of myself ; but as my Father hath 
taught me, I speak these things.” John 8:28. 

Jesus stood as a man, using no power other than man 
can lay hold of, in resisting temptation. As Son of 
man he was as weak as man. As Son of God he was 
as strong as God. He was not a Unitarian’s Christ. 
He was God. Divinity and humanity were centered 
in him. More than a man hung on the cross. Un- 
fathomable mystery, God died. 

“He voluntarily assumed human nature. It was 
his own act, and by his own consent. He clothed his 
divinity with humanity. He was all the while as God, 
but he did not appear as God. He veiled the demon- 
[30] 


31 


Christ and the Spirit 

strations of Deity, which had commanded the homage 
and called forth the admiration of the universe of 
God. He was God while upon earth, but he divested 
himself of the form of God, and in its stead took the 
form and fashion of a man. He walked the earth as 
a man. For our sakes he became poor, that we 
through his poverty might be made rich. He laid 
aside his glory and his majesty. He was God, but 
the glories of the form of God he for a while relin- 
quished. Though he walked , among men in poverty, 
scattering his blessings wherever he went, at his word 
legions of angels would surround their Redeemer, and 
do him homage. But he walked the earth unrecog- 
nized, unconfessed, with but few exceptions, by his 
creatures. The atmosphere was polluted with sin and 
curses, in place of the anthem of praise. His lot was 
poverty and humiliation. As he passed to and fro 
upon his mission of mercy to relieve the sick, to lift 
up the depressed, scarcely a solitary voice called him 
blessed, and the very greatest of the nation passed him 
by with disdain. 

Contrast this with the riches of glory, the wealth 
of praise pouring forth from immortal tongues, the 
millions of rich voices in the universe of God in an- 
thems of adoration. But he humbled himself, and 
took mortality upon him. As a member of the human 
family, he was mortal ; but as a God, he was the foun- 
tain of life t6 the world. He could, in his divine per- 
son, ever have withstood the advances of death, and 
refused to come under its dominion ; but he volun- 
tarily laid down his life, that in so doing he might 
give life and bring immortality to light. He bore the 


32 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

sins of the world, and endured the penalty, which 
rolled like a mountain upon his divine soul. He 
yielded up his life a sacrifice, that man should not 
eternally die. He died, not through being compelled 
to die, but by his own free will. This was humility. 
The whole treasure of heaven was poured out in one 
gift to save fallen man. He brought into his human 
nature all the life-giving energies that human beings 
will need and must receive. 

Wondrous combination of man and God ! He 
might have helped his human nature to withstand the 
inroads of disease by pouring from his divine nature 
vitality and undecaying vigor to the human. But he 
humbled himself to man’s nature. He did this that 
the Scripture might be fulfilled ; and the plan was en- 
tered into by the Son of God, knowing all the steps 
in his humiliation, that he must descend to make an 
expiation for the sins of a condemned, groaning 
world.’’ — Mrs. E. G. White, in Review and Herald, 
July 5, i88j. 

During his entire life Christ communed with the 
Spirit. “ From hours spent with God he came forth 
morning by morning, to bring the light of heaven to 
men. Daily he received a fresh baptism of the Holy 
Spirit. In the early hours of the new day the Lord 
awakened him from his slumbers, and his soul and his 
lips were anointed with grace, that he might impart 
to others.” — " Christ's Object Lessons,” page ijp. 

But when Jesus began his ministry, although he was 
begotten of the Holy Spirit, he received a special 
anointing, or baptism, of the Spirit for the work of 
the ministry. “ Thou hast loved righteousness, and 


33 


Christ and the Spirit 

hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath 
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fel- 
lows.” Heb. 1 : 9. Peter in his sermon at Caesarea 
told how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the 
Holy Ghost and with power : who went about doing 
good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil ; 
for God was with him*.” Acts 10 : 38. It was by this 
spiritual anointing that Jesus was strengthened for 
his work. He received, as the Son of man, his equip- 
ment for service in the same way that we do, by a 
daily baptism of the Spirit and power. We read that 
Jesus was tempted, even to the point of suffering 
(Heb. 2: 18), that he '‘was in all points tempted like 
as we are, yet without sin.” Heb. 4:15. But he 
“ through the eternal Spirit offered himself without 
spot to God.” Heb. 9 : 14. He met these temptations 
clothed with sinful flesh, and overcame by the power 
of the Holy Spirit, closing his life’s work " without 
spot.” 

While Jesus communed constantly with the Spirit, 
he received a spiritual anointing for service at his 
baptism, when he stood at the threshold of his min- 
istry. As he knelt on the banks of the Jordan after 
being baptized by John, he poured out a prayer that 
pierced the heavens with its power, and “ the heaven 
was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily 
shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from 
heaven, which said. Thou art my beloved Son; in 
thee T am well pleased.” Luke 3:21, 22. 

This anointing of the Spirit was an important event 
in the life and ministry of our Lord. In a fuller sense 
he was now to unsheathe his sword in his controversy 


3 


34 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

with Satan. The very names given him in Holy Writ 
are expressive of this experience. In the Old Testa- 
ment he is called the Messiah. The word Messiah 
means the Anointed One. The corresponding name 
in the New Testament is Christ. This word also 
means the Anointed. John the Baptist said, “ I am 
not the Christ,” that is, “ the Anointed.” John i : 20. 
Peter said, “ Thou art the Christ,” that is, “ the 
Anointed One.” Mark 8 : 29. “ These are written, 

that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,” or “ the 
Anointed One.” John 20:31. 

It is a blessed thought that we are the anointed ones 
of God! Says the beloved apostle, “Ye have an 
anointing from the Holy One.” i John 2 : 20. This 
is the same anointing that the Saviour had. And we 
bear it in our names, as he did. He was called Christ, 
and we are called Christians, the anointed followers 
of the Anointed One. 

It is of great interest to note in the ministry of 
Christ the results which followed the anointing of the 
Holy Spirit received at his baptism. He was anointed 
to preach the gospel. “ The Spirit of the Lord is 
upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the 
gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the 
broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, 
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty 
them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year 
of the Lord.” Luke 4:18, 19. And surely if our 
divine Master, who was born of the Spirit, needed to 
be anointed with the Holy Spirit to preach the word, 
those of his followers who are ordained to do the 
same work need also to receive this heavenly anointing. 


35 


Christ and the Spirit 

The words, “ Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until 
ye be endued with power from on high,” reach down 
to our time. 

Immediately after his baptism, “ Jesus being full of 
the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led 
by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days 
tempted of the devil.” Luke 4:1, 2. But “he was 
fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy 
Spirit .” — The Desire of Ages/" page 12^. 

He unsheathed the “ sword of the Spirit,” and con- 
quered the prince of devils. The principalities of hell 
were so thoroughly vanquished that we read, “And 
when the devil had ended all the temptation, he de- 
parted from him for a season.” Luke 4:13. The 
question was now settled. Satanic resources were 
exhausted; Christ had resisted the greatest tempta- 
tion Satan could bring to bear upon him; his deci- 
sion was irrevocably made. Through the power of 
the Spirit he came forth frofn the conflict with the 
powers of darkness a conquering hero. 

Concerning his return to Galilee from a triumphant 
ministry in Judea, where some notable miracles had 
been performed, we read, “ And Jesus returned in 
the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went 
out a fame of him through all the region round 
about.” Luke 4 : 14. The Spirit was not given to him 
“ by measure ; ” he could be intrusted with it in all the 
fullness of its power. When it came upon him at his 
baptism, we are told that it “ abode ” upon him. He 
was with him continually as his guide and companion. 
It was “ through the Holy Ghost ” that Jesus gave 
“ commandments unto the apostles whom he had 


36 The Ministry of the Spirit 

chosen.” Acts i : 2. Would that we might be given 
the Spirit without measure. But no one would think 
of placing unlimited power in the hands of a madman. 
No more can the Lord trust us with the fullness of 
the Spirit. The depth of our consecration, and the 
completeness of our surrender, measure the limit of 
our spiritual power. 

It is blessed to think that all that the Holy Spirit 
was to Jesus he may be to his followers. “There is 
no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self 
aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit 
upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to 
God. If men will endure the necessary discipline, 
without complaining, or fainting by the way, God will 
teach them hour by hour and day by day. He longs to 
reveal his grace. If his people will remove the ob- 
structions, he will pour forth the waters of salvation 
in abundant streams through the human channels.” — 
“ The Desire of Ages” pages 2^0, 251. 

It is a wonderful privilege to be a channel through 
which the Holy Spirit can carry a current of blessings 
to human souls. Our most earnest prayer should be 
that the Lord will remove every obstruction in the life, 
that the stream of blessing may flow in all its fullness 
to water souls fainting and ready to die. 


CHAPTER V 


THE SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 

HE work of the Holy Spirit and his manifesta- 



i tion is revealed in the entire Bible. The Sacred 
Writings abound in references concerning his presence 
and regenerative work. In the opening chapters of 
the Bible, written by Moses while a shepherd in the 
land of Midian, the creative work of the Holy Spirit 
is introduced. In the closing chapter by the seer of 
Patmos, the work of the Spirit in the work of redemp- 
tion — a new creation — is revealed in the call, “ The 
Spirit and the bride say, Come.^’ Ever since the fall 
of man, the Holy Spirit has been pleading with sin- 
ners to yield to God and forsake sin. His convicting, 
wooing power has been felt in every age, in every 
nation, and with every individual. Since Adam lost 
Eden, the Spirit has been the Spirit of hope to all his 
posterity. 

Wherever there is an impulse of love and sym- 
pathy, wherever the heart reaches out to bless and up- 
lift others, there is revealed the working of God’s 
Holy Spirit. In the depths of heathenism, men who 
have had no knowledge of the written law of God, 
who have never even heard the name of Christ, have 
been kind to his servants, protecting them at the risk 
of their own lives. Their acts show the working of 
a divine power. The Holy Spirit has implanted the 
grace of Christ in the heart of the savage, quickening 


[37] 


38 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

his sympathies contrary to his nature, contrary to his 
education. The ‘ Light which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world,’ is shining in his soul ; and this 
light, if heeded, will guide his feet to the kingdom of 
God.” — Christ’s Object Lessons,” page ^85. 

“ And every virtue we possess, 

And every victory won, 

And every thought of holiness 
Are his alone.” 

There are eighty-eight passages in the Old Testa- 
ment where the Holy Spirit seems to be referred to. 
These texts are found in twenty-two of the thirty-nine 
books. The five books of Moses contain fourteen of 
them; Isaiah and Ezekiel each contain fifteen refer- 
ences. Judges and First Samuel have each seven ref- 
erences, and there are five in the Psalms.’*' 

During the entire period covered by the types and 
shadows, the Spirit of God was manifested. Even at 


* As authority for these statements I am indebted to that 
excellent work on the Holy Spirit “ Through the Eternal 
Spirit,” by James E. Gumming. Omitting a considerable num- 
ber of other texts, in which it is uncertain whether the refer- 
ence is to God, or to another being, or to a disposition of 
mind, he gives the following passages in which he understands 
the Spirit of God is referred to: Gen. 1:2; 6:3; 41:38; Ex. 
28:3; 31:3; 35:31; Num. 11:17, 25, 26, 29; 24:2; 27:18; 
Deut. 34 : 9 ; Judges 3 : 10 ; 6 : 34 ; 1 1 : 29 ; 13 : 25 ; 14:6; i Sam. 
10:6, 10; 11:6; 16:13, 14; 19:20, 23; 2 Sam. 23:1, 2; I 
Kings 18:12; 22:24; 2 Kings 2:16; i Chron. 12:18; 28:12; 
2 Chron. 15:1; 18:23; 20:14; 24:20; Neh. 9:20, 30; Job 
26: 13; 33:4; Ps. 51: ii; 104:30; 139:7; 143: 10; Prov. 1:23; 
Isa. 11:2; 30:1; 32 : 15 ; 34 : 16 ; 40:7, 13; 42 : i ; 44 : 3 ; 48 :i6 ; 
59 : 19, 21 ; 61 : I ; 63 : 10, 1 1, 14 ; Eze. 2:2; 3:12, 14, 24 ; 8:3; 
11: I, 5, 19, 24; 36:26, 27; 37:1, 14; 39:29; 43:5; Joel 2:28, 
29; Micah 2:7; 3:8; Haggai 2:5; Zech. 4:6; 7:12; 12:10; 
Mai. 2: 15. 


The Spirit in the Old Testament 39 

creation the “ Spirit of God moved upon the face of 
the waters.” Gen. i : 2. Speaking to Noah concern- 
ing the flood which was to destroy man and beast from 
the earth because of sin, the Lord said, “ My Spirit 
shall not always strive with man.” Gen. 6 : 3. When 
the sanctuary was to be built according to a pattern 
as a dwelling place for the Most High God, we read 
of Bezaleel, who was chosen as the chief artificer, that 
God '' filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, 
and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all 
manner of workmanship.” Ex. 31 : 3. Others also 
were “ filled with the Spirit of wisdom ” for the work. 
Ex. 28 : 3. The Spirit was upon Moses, the Lord’s 
chosen leader in the wilderness, and upon the seventy 
elders. Num. 11:17, 25. 

In the days of the judges the Spirit of God is fre- 
quently mentioned. We read concerning Gideon that 
“ the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he 
blew a trumpet ; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.” 
Judges 6:34. The margin reads that “the Spirit of 
the Lord clothed Gideon.” He wrought great and 
mighty victories for God, but the instrument was 
hidden, “ clothed,” or covered, by the Spirit of God. 
A blessed covering indeed! It is this hiding of self, 
this covering of the Holy Spirit, that the glory and 
power of God alone may be seen, that prepares us to 
do valiant things for God. Another translation of 
this verse reads that “ the Spirit of the Lord put on 
Gideon.” This presents the other side of the picture, 
both of which are true. Seen and yet covered ! 
Blessed paradox! Gideon was seen, but the power 
within him, strengthening him to do a great work for 


40 The Ministry of the Spirit 

God, was the indwelling presence and power of the 
Holy Spirit. It is this abiding of the Spirit in the 
heart that every Christian must have to do the work 
of the Lord. 

We read also that the Spirit came upon Jephthah 
(Judges 11:29), Samson (Judges 13:25), and others. 
During the weary wanderings of the children of Israel 
in the wilderness, their murmurings and rebellion 
vexed his Holy Spirit.’' Isa. 63 : 10. To the prophet 
Ezekiel by the river Chebar the heavens were opened 
and he saw visions of God. Speaking of the living 
creatures which he saw, he says, “ And they went 
every one straight forward: whither the Spirit was to 
go, they went; and they turned not when they went.” 
Eze. 1 : 12. Here the Spirit of God seems to be di- 
recting the movements of the angelic host around the 
throne of God. This is a great work indeed. Again 
the prophet says, Then the Spirit took me up, and 
I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying. 
Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.” 
Eze. 3 : 12. 

The rushing here spoken of directs our attention at 
once to Pentecost, where the Spirit came suddenly as 
of a rushing mighty wind,” and filled the place where 
they were assembled. Acts 2 : 2. 

A prophet of God some eight centuries before the 
first advent of Christ foretold the special work of the 
Spirit, not only at Pentecost, but in the closing work 
of the gospel for the fallen race: “Be glad then, ye 
children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: 
for he hath given you the former rain moderately, 
and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the 


The Spirit in the Old Testament 41 

former rain, and the latter rain in the first month/' 
‘‘ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour 
out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your 
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream 
dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also 
upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those 
days will I pour out my Spirit.” Joel 2:23, 28, 29. 

Many other instances of the work of the Holy Spirit 
in the Old Testament might be mentioned. Though 
the Spirit was seen working with men in patriarchal 
times, speaking through prophets and changing the 
stony hearts of men, it remains, however, for all the 
fullness and glorious work of the Holy Spirit to be 
set forth in the New Testament, where, as the suc- 
cessor and representative of our blessed Lord, he is 
seen directing the church, choosing missionaries, and 
turning thousands from darkness to light. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT 

T he teaching and manifestation of the Holy 
Spirit is much more full and complete in the 
New Testament than in the Old Testament. “ Dur- 
ing the patriarchal age, the influence of the Holy 
Spirit had often been revealed in a marked manner, 
but never in its fullness .’^ — ''Acts of the Apostles/' 
page 37^’ 

Special promises had been made concerning the out- 
pouring of the Spirit at Pentecost and the work that 
would be accomplished till the close of probation. The 
prophet Joel had prophesied of a time known as the 
“ former ” and latter rain,’" when all fle’sh would be 
visited; and Ezekiel, when wrapped in visions of God 
by the river Chebar, spoke of how the Lord would 
put his Spirit in the hearts of the people, and write 
his law in the mind. Eze. 36:26, 27. Jesus said, 
“Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that believeth on 
me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater 
works than these shall he do; because I go unto my 
Father.” John 14:12. Jesus then told the disciples 
that he would “ pray the Father,” and he would give 
them another “ Comforter,” the Holy Spirit. Through 
this agency they would be able to do even greater 
works than he did ; greater, doubtless, because greater 
in extent. 

Many references concerning the Holy Spirit are 
found in the New Testament, and the record of great 
[42] 


The Spirit in the Neiv Testament 


43 


manifestations of his presence and power, especially 
in the book of Acts. Dr. Gumming says : “ There are 
in all two hundred and sixty-two passages in which 
the Holy Ghost is specially and directly mentioned. 
A few of these might perhaps be questioned. The 
Gospels contain fifty-six passages; the Acts of the 
Apostles, fifty-seven ; St. Paul’s epistles, one hun- 
dred and thirteen; and the other books, thirty-six. 
The epistle to Philemon and the second and third 
epistles of John are the only books in which the 
Holy Spirit is not named.” * 

The New Testament writers speak of the Holy 
Spirit as of a subject well known and understood. 
The first mention is in Matt, i : i8, “ When as his 
mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they 
came together, she was found with child of the Holy 
Spirit.” In the first four chapters of the Gospels we 
find the Holy Spirit mentioned nearly thirty times. 


* The following passages mentioning the Holy Spirit are 
cited by James E. Gumming, in his work entitled, “ The Eter- 
nal Spirit,” some of which, however, he marks doubtful : — 

Matthew, twelve: i : i8, 20; 3:11, 16; 4:1; 10:20; 12:18, 

28, 31, 32; 22:43; 28: 19. 

Mark, six: 1:8, 10, 12; 3:29; 12:36; 13:11. 

Luke, eighteen: i ; 15, 35> 4i» ^71 2:25, 26, 27; 3:16, 22; 
4:1, 14, 18 ; 10 : 21 ; ii : 13 ; 12 : 10, 12 ; 24 : 49. 

John, twenty: 1:32, 33; 3:5, 6, 8, 34; 6:63; 7:39; 14:16, 
17, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15; 20:22. 

Acts, fifty-seven : i : 2, 4, 5, 8, 16 ; 2 : 4, 17, 18, 33, 38 ; 4:8, 

31; 5:3, 9, 32; 6:3, 5, 10; 7:51, SS; 8:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 

29, 39; 9: 17, 31 ; 10: 19, 20, 38, 44, 45, 47; II : 12, 15, 16, 24, 
28; 13:2, 4, 9, 10, 52; 15:8, 28; 16:6, 7; 19:2, 6; 20:22, 23, 
28; 21 : 4, II ; 28: 25. 

Romans, twenty-five: 1:4, ii; 5:5; 8:1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, ii, 
13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 26, 27; 9: 1 ; 14: 17; 15:13, 16, 19, 30. 

i Corinthians, twenty-four: 2:4, 10, ii, 12, 13, 14; 3:16; 
5:4; 6:. II, 19; 7:40; 12:3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, ii, 13; 14:2. 


44 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


but without a word as to whom he is, or why he 
works. Having been mentioned more than fourscore 
times in the Old Testament, the manifestation of the 
Spirit was fully understood. 

The work of the Spirit in conversion is revealed 
in the New Testament in all its fullness. The new 
birth has been defined as the beginning of a new life, 
and conversion the turning from the old one. “ Re- 
generation is the infusion of grace into the soul ; con- 
version is the exercise of grace.” This experience is 
wholly the result of the workings of the Holy Spirit, 
not apart from the Word, but through the Word. Ever 
since the fall of man it has been true that to be saved 
we must become a new creature in Christ. 2 Cor. 
5 : 17. “ Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man 
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 


2 Corinthians, twelve : i : 22 ; 3 : 3, 6, 8, 17, 18 ; 4:13; 5:5; 
6: 6; II : 4; 12: 18; 13: 14. 

Galatians, thirteen: 3 • 2, 3, 5, 14; 4:6, 29; 5:5, 16, 17, 18, 
22, 25; 6:8. 

Ephesians, thirteen: i : 13, 14, 17; 2:18, 22; 3:5, 16; 4:3, 
4, 30; 5: 18; 6: 17, 18. 

Philippians, three : 1:19; 2:1; 3:3. 

Colossians, one : i : 8. 

1 Thessalonians, four : i : 5, 6 ; 4 : 8 ; 5 : 19. 

2 Thessalonians, two(?): 2:13; 3:5. 

1 Timothy, three(?): 3:16; 4:1, 14. 

2 Timothy, two : i : 7, 14. 

Titus, one: 3 : 5. 

Hebrews, eleven(?): 2:4; 3:7; 4:3, 4, 7; 6:4; 9:8, 14; 
10: 15, 16, 29. 

James, one : 4 : 5. 

1 Peter, seven: 1:2, ii, 12, 22; 3: 18; 4:6, 14. 

2 Peter, one : 1:21. 

I John, eight : 2 : 20, 27 ; 3 : 24 ; 4 : 2, 6, 13 ; 5 : 7, 8. 

Jude, two: Verses 19, 20. 

Revelation, eighteen: 1:4, 10; 2:7, ii, 17, 29; 3:1, 6, 13, 
22; 4:2, 5; 5:6; II : II, • 14: 13; 17: 3; 21: 10; 22: 17. 


The Spirit in the New Testament 45 

John 3 : 3 . This spiritual birth is wrought through 
the Holy Spirit. True Christians are indeed “ born 
of the Spirit.” 

The first work of the Spirit in the heart is to re- 
prove, convince, or convict of sin. Every conviction 
of wrongdoing since sin entered the world has been 
produced in the conscience through the agency of the 
Holy Spirit. In every heart, in every age, and in 
every nation, Christian or heathen, civilized or bar- 
barian, this omnipresent power has been, and is, at 
work to bring men to Christ. And great transforma- 
tions are witnessed in human experience in this sin- 
stricken and revolted world. “ The Lord Jesus is 
making experiments on human hearts through the ex- 
hibitions of his mercy and abundant grace. He is 
effecting transformations so amazing that Satan, with 
all his confederacy of evil united against God and the 
laws of his government, stands viewing them as a 
fortress impregnable to his sophistries and delusions. 
They are to him an incomprehensible mystery. The 
angels of God, seraphim and cherubim, the powers 
commissioned to cooperate with human agencies, look 
on with astonishment and joy, that fallen men, once 
children of wrath, are through the training of Christ 
developing characters after the divine similitude, to 
be sons and daughters of God, to act an important 
part in the occupations and pleasures of heaven.” — 
Special Testimony. 

This incomprehensible transformation in human 
character is wrought through the Holy Spirit. It 
takes hold of the heart of the gambler and of the 
drunkard, and makes them children of God. It seizes 


46 The Ministry of the Spirit 

hold of those wholly abandoned to the follies of fash- 
ion, whose only thought is of dress and the vanities 
of worldly pleasures, and transforms them into de- 
voted, self-sacrificing Christians. The revelation of 
this creative power, and how it may be received in 
the life, is set forth in the Scriptures of truth, espe- 
cially in the New Testament. 


CHAPTER VII 


THE PROMISE OF, THE SPIRIT 

D uring the ministry of Christ on earth he made 
frequent references to the presence and work of 
the Holy Spirit. To the carping Pharisees, who, be- 
cause of the blindness of their unbelief, rejected him 
and his work, he said : “ But if I cast out devils by the 
Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto 
you.” Matt. 12:28. Then while speaking to them 
he made one of the most awful pronouncements 
against sin found in the Scriptures : “ Wherefore I say 
unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be 
forgiven unto men : but the blasphemy against the Holy 
Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever 
speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be 
forgiven him : but whosoever speaketh against the Holy 
Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this 
world, neither in the world to come.” Verses 31, 32. 
He warned them against the terrible danger of clos- 
ing their eyes against light and truth, so that they 
could no longer be convicted by the Spirit and led 
to forsake their sins. To those who should be brought 
before magistrates and rulers of the earth and asked 
to give a reason for their faith, Jesus said: “Take ye 
no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what 
ye shall say : for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the 
same hour what ye ought to say.” Luke 12: ii, 12. 
He thus gives assurance of the Spirit’s presence with 
his people till the end of time. 


[47] 


48 The Ministry of the Spirit 

It was not, however, till near the close of his earthly 
ministry that our Lord began especially to emphasize 
the work of the Holy Spirit. In the “ upper room ” 
he had made known to his disciples that he was soon 
to leave them and return to his Father. John 13:33, 
36. This was a sad hour to them. He who had been 
with them was going where they could not go. To 
comfort their sorrowing hearts, Jesus announced to 
them the advent of “ another Comforter,” or “ Advo- 
cate,” who would come and abide with them till the end 
of the church’s pilgrimage on earth. The special in- 
struction of Jesus at that memorable farewell meeting 
with his beloved disciples is given in John, chapters 14- 
16. The sublime prayer with which this solemn meet- 
ing with his disciples was concluded is recorded in the 
seventeenth chapter. That we may have before us 
what Jesus said concerning the coming of the Com- 
forter on this occasion, we shall quote from the Amer- 
ican Revised Version, in verse form, the scripture 
containing this instruction : — 

“ And I will pray the Father, 

And he shall give you 
Another Comforter, 

That he may be with you forever. 

Even the Spirit of truth : 

Whom the world cannot receive; 

For it beholdeth him not. 

Neither knoweth him: 

Ye know him; 

For he abideth with you. 

And shall be in you.” 

“These things have I spoken unto you, 

While yet abiding with you. 

But the Comforter, 

Even the Holy Spirit, ; 


49 


The Promise of the Spirit 


Whom the Father will send in my name, 

He shall teach you all things, 

And bring to your remembrance 
All that I said unto you.” 

“ But when the Comforter is come, 

Whom I will send unto you from the Father, 

Even the Spirit of truth, 

Which proceedeth from the Father, 

He shall bear witness of me : 

And ye also bear witness. 

Because ye have been with me from the beginning.” 

“ Nevertheless I tell you the truth ; 

It is expedient for you that I go away; 

For if I go not away. 

The Comforter will not come unto you; 

But if I go, I will send him unto you. 

And he, when he is come. 

Will convict the world in respect 
Of sin. 

And of righteousness. 

And of judgment: 

Of sin, because they believe not on me ; 

Of righteousness, because I go to the Father, 

And ye behold me no more; 

Of judgment, because the prince of this world hath 
been j udged. 

I have yet many things to say unto you. 

But ye cannot bear them now. 

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come. 

He shall guide you into all the truth : 

For he shall not speak from himself; 

But what things soever he shall hear, 

These shall he speak: 

And he shall declare unto you the things that are 
to come. 

He shall glorify me: 

For he shall take of mine. 

And shall declare it unto you. 

All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine : 
Therefore said I, that he taketh of mine, 

And shall declare it unto you.” 

John 14: 16, 17, 25; 15:26, 27; 16:7-25. 

The Holy Spirit is here spoken of for the first time 
under the name of the Paraclete, the word from which 


I 


50 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

“ Comforter ” is here translated. The significance and 
beauty of this we shall consider in another chapter. 

Let us notice some of the precious things the Sav- 
iour here says of this promised Paraclete : — 

1. He is a Comforter, or Advocate. 

2. He is the Spirit of truth. 

3. He will dwell with us forever. 

4. He will be a teacher of righteousness. 

5. He will help us remember the Word. 

6. He will testify, not of himself, but of Christ. 

7. He will convince of sin, of righteousness, and 
of judgment. 

8. He will guide us into the truth. 

9. He will reveal things to come. 

10. He will glorify Christ. 

11. He will reveal to us the things of God. 

Nor is this all the instruction the Saviour gave to his 
disciples in reference to the coming of the Comforter, 
or Paraclete. After his resurrection, speaking to his 
disciples who were to go forth to carry the gospel to the 
world, he said to them : “ Peace be unto you : as my 
Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when 
he had said this,, he breathed on them, and saith unto 
them. Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” John 20:21, 22. 
“ And, being assembled together with them, com- 
manded them that they should not depart from Jeru- 
salem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, 
saith he, ye have heard of me.” Acts i : 4. 

The fulfillment of this mysterious and wonderful 
promise of the Father and his Son was seen at Pente- 
cost. Here the disciples, one hundred and twenty in 
number, were all with one accord in one place.” Not 


51 


The Promise of the Spirit 

one was absent. Heart beat with heart, and prayer 
mingled with prayer. It was then that the Comforter 
came in fulfillment of the promise. Suddenly a sound 
from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind filled the 
house, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, 
and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit 
gave them utterance.” Acts 2 : 4. When the Spirit 
manifested himself to Ezekiel, it was with “ a voice of 
a great rushing.” Eze. 3: 12. The marvelous work of 
the Holy Spirit after Pentecost is seen in the early 
church, and recounted especially in the book of Acts. 

What the Spirit was to the church in apostolic days, 
it may be to the church in the closing days of the 
world’s history. This promise of the Spirit was not 
for that time alone ; it belongs to us as well. Then 
Peter said unto them. Repent, and be baptized every 
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remis- 
sion of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your chil- 
dren, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the 
Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:38, 39. 

‘'To us today, as verily as to the first disciples, the 
promise of the Spirit belongs. God will today endow 
men and women with power from above, as he en- 
dowed those who on the day of Pentecost heard the 
word of salvation. At this very hour his Spirit and his 
grace are for all who need them and will take him at 
his word. . . . 

“ Christ declared that the divine influence of the 
Spirit was to be with his followers unto the end. But 
the promise is not appreciated as it should be; and 
therefore its fulfillment is not seen as it might be. The 


52 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

promise of the Spirit is a matter little thought of ; and 
the result is only what might be expected, — spiritual 
drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension and 
death. Minor matters occupy the attention, and the 
divine power which is necessary for the growth and 
prosperity of the church, and which would bring all 
other blessings in its train, is lacking, though offered in 
its infinite plenitude. . . . 

“ Why do we not hunger and thirst for the gift of 
the Spirit, since this is the means by which we are to 
receive power? Why do we not talk of it, pray for 
it, preach concerning it? The Lord is more willing to 
give the Holy Spirit to us than parents are to give good 
gifts to their children. For the baptism of the Spirit 
every worker should be pleading with God. Com- 
panies should be gathered together to ask for special 
help, for heavenly wisdom, that they may know how 
to plan and execute wisely. Especially should men 
pray that God will baptize his missionaries with the 
Holy Spirit .” — Testimonies for the Church" VoL 
VIII, pages 20-22. 

The church militant is almost through the wilder- 
ness of sin, and is soon to enter the heavenly Canaan. 
But dangers threaten the remnant on every side, none 
perhaps more than that of ease and lukewarmness. 
She needs at this time the promised power of the Holy 
Spirit. Surely we should not fail to lay hold of that 
which will bring all other blessings in its train.” 
Without the Spirit there is no life, for “ the body 
without the spirit is dead.” But clothed with the 
power of the Spirit, the church “ cometh up from the 
wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved,” and goes forth 


The Promise of the Spirit 53 

“ fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an 
army with banners.” 

The result of a vital connection between the eternal 
Spirit and the machinery of the church, is forcibly 
stated in the following language : — 

“ Suppose we see an army sitting down before a 
granite fort, and they tell us that they intend to 
batter it down ; we might ask them, ‘ How ? ’ They 
point to a cannon ball. Well, but there is no power in 
that; it is heavy, but not more than half a hundred- 
weight, or perhaps a hundredweight. If all the men in 
the army hurled it against the fort, they would make no 
impression. They say, ‘ No, but look at the cannon ! ’ 
Well, there is no power in that. A child may ride 
upon it, a bird may perch in its mouth : it is a machine, 
and nothing more. ‘ But look at the powder ! ’ Well, 
there is no power in that ; a child may spill it, a sparrow 
may peck it. Yet this powerless powder and powerless 
ball are put into the powerless cannon; one spark of 
life enters it, and then in the twinkling of an eye that 
powder is a flash of lightning, and that ball a thunder- 
bolt, which smites as if it had been sent from heaven. 
So it is with our church machinery at this day. We 
have all the instruments necessary for pulling down 
strongholds ; and, O for the baptism of fire ! ” 

“ Hast Thou imparted to my soul 
A living spark of holy fire ? 

O, kindle now the sacred flame, 

Make me to burn with pure desire ! ” 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE ADVENT OF THE SPIRIT 

A nd I will pray the Father, and he shall give you 
another Comforter, that he may abide with you 
forever.” John 14: 16. 

In these words our blessed Lord made one of the 
most comforting and encouraging promises found in 
the Bible. Notice the words, “ I will pray the Father, 
and he shall give you another Comforter.” “ An- 
other ” implies that they had with them One who was 
to them a “ Comforter,” or Helper. He was now to 
leave them ; but another ” would take his place, that 
they might not be left comfortless. 

And more than this is conveyed to us by the words 
“ another Comforter.” Another implies that there 
were two. I am leaving you, but another is coming 
who will take my place. This thought is further em- 
phasized in the words, “ I will not leave you orphans : 
I will come to you.” John 14: 18, margin. An orphan 
is one who has been bereaved of a parent. Jesus had 
been a helper, a protector, a parent, so to speak, to 
them. He was now going to leave them, but he said, 
I will not leave you bereaved, with none to care for 
you, but will pray the Father and he will send another 
Helper, who will take my place, and be the personal 
companion and counselor of each and all till the end. 
Allowing to the words “ another Comforter ” the usual 
meaning of language, they convey clearly the idea that 
the other One who was to come was not simply the 

[54] 


55 


The Advent of the Spirit 

influence of himself, but another person, who would 
come and take his place in the church, and abide with 
the believers till the end of time. 

Again he says : “ Nevertheless I tell you the truth ; 
It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not 
away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I 
depart, I will send him unto youT John i6: 7. If I 
depart, I will send him.” Jesus has taken his depar- 
ture, and just as surely as the one Comforter ascended, 
the other Comforter descended. Just as surely as the 
one Comforter is with the Father on the throne, the 
other Comforter is with the church on earth. 

This promise to send another Comforter was ful- 
filled on the day of Pentecost, when with one accord 
the disciples were all together in one place. “ And 
when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were 
all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there 
came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty 
wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as 
of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were 
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with 
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” 
Acts 2 : 1-4. 

“ When God of old came down from heaven, 

In power and wrath he came ; 

Before his feet the clouds were riven, 

Half darkness and half flame. 


“ But when he came the second time, 
He came in power and love; 
Softer than gale at morning prime 
Hovered his holy Dove. 


56 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


“ The fires that rushed on Sinai down 
In sudden torrents dread, 

Now gently light, a glorious crown, 

On every sainted head. 

“ Like arrows went those lightnings forth, 
Winged with the sinner’s doom; 

But these, like tongues o’er all the earth. 
Proclaiming life to come. ^ 

“ And as on Israel’s awe-struck ear 
The voice, exceeding loud. 

The trump, that angels wake to hear, 
Thrilled from the deep, dark cloud ; 

“ So, when the Spirit of our God 
Came down his flock to find, 

A voice from heaven was heard abroad, 

A rushing, mighty wind. 


“It fills the church of God; it fills 
The sinful world around; 

Only in stubborn hearts and wills 
No place for it is found.” 

The coming of the promised Comforter was a glo- 
rious hour for the church. “ As the manger of Beth- 
lehem was the cradle of the Son of God, so was the 
upper room the cradle of the Spirit of God ; as the 
advent of ^ the holy Child ’ was a testimony that God 
had ‘ visited and redeemed his people,’ so was the com- 
ing of the Holy Ghost. The fact that the Comforter 
is here is proof that the Advocate is there in the pres- 
ence of the Father. Boldly Peter and the other apos- 
tles now confront the rulers with their testimony: 
‘ Whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God 
exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Sav- 
iour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness 
of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things ; and 
so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to 


The Advent of the Spirit 


57 


them that obey him.’ As the sound of the golden bells 
upon the high priest’s garments within the holiest gave 
evidence that he was alive, so the sound of the Holy 
Ghost, proceeding from heaven and heard in that upper 
chamber, was an incontestable witness that the great 
High Priest whom they had just seen passing through 
the cloud curtain, entering within the veil, was still 
living for them in the presence of the Father.” — A. J. 
Gordon, D. D. 

Peter, in explanation of the marvelous manifesta- 
tion of the Holy Spirit seen at Pentecost, which was not 
comprehended by the people, said : “ This Jesus hath 
God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. There- 
fore being by the right hand of God exalted, and hav- 
ing received of the Father the promise of the Holy 
Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see and 
hear.” Acts 2 : 32, 33. To this the late Rev. A. T. 
Pierson adds the following comment : — 

“ This language, which occurs only here, is too 
marked to pass unnoticed. The Holy Spirit was God’s 
ascension gift to Christ, and his ascension gift to his 
church. Hence Christ had said, ‘ And, behold, I send 
the promise of my Father upon you.’ This was the 
promised gift of the Father to the Son, and the Son’s 
promised gift to his believing people. How easy now 
to reconcile the apparent contradiction of Christ’s ear- 
lier and later words : ‘ I will pray the Father, and he 
shall give you another Paraclete ; ’ and then, after- 
ward: ‘ If I depart, I will send him unto you.’ The 
Spirit was the Father’s answer to the prayer of his 
Son; and so the gift was transferred by him to the 
mystical body of which he is the head.” 


58 The Ministry of the Spirit 

Notice the expression, “ It sat upon each of them.’^ 
When Christ had “ purged our sins,” he '' sat down on 
the right hand of the Majesty on high.” This indi- 
cates permanence of position and condition. In like 
manner the other Comforter, the Holy Spirit, took his 
place in the church. It became henceforth his abiding 
place, to be his seat, his holy see, so to speak, over 
which he would preside as the vicar of the Son of God. 

The coming of the Holy Spirit means much to the 
church. One had taken his place in the church on 
earth who is able to cope with the powers of darkness, 
and enable man to resist sin. 

“ The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that he 
[Jesus] could solicit from his Father for the exalta- 
tion of his people. The Spirit was to be given as a 
regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of 
Christ would have been of no avail. The power of 
evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the sub- 
mission of men to this satanic captivity ,was amazing. 
Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the 
mighty agency of the third person of the Godhead, who 
would come with no modified energy, but in the full- 
ness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes ef- 
fectual what has been wrought out by the world's 
Redeemer.” — The Desire of Ages,” page d/i. 

The following quotation states the same great 
truth : — 

“ Jesus Christ is the revelation that our sins are for- 
given, that God has taken them on himself ; his death 
on the cross is the evidence that all their consequences 
have been borne. The Holy Spirit convinces us of sin, 
and makes us feel the need of forgiveness; and con- 


59 


The Advent of the Spirit 

vinces us of righteousness, and makes us trust the 
forgiveness through Christ. Of what benefit would it 
have been to man that a sacrifice had been offered to 
take away sin if he had not felt the need of such an 
offering, or if, feeling the need, he had not been able 
to trust it? What good would it have done man 
that the Holy Spirit had convicted him of sin, if he 
had not known also of the forgiveness of sins, and the 
means by which he might secure that forgiveness? 

“ In the Christian life Jesus Christ is its rule, the 
Holy Spirit its power. What would be the benefit of 
a rule that we had no power of following, or of a 
power that we did not know how to direct? The ex- 
ample of Jesus Christ is in all respects so perfect that 
when it is set before us we can but feel how helpless 
it is for us to try to imitate it. But the Holy Spirit is 
promised to those who faithfully seek to follow that 
example, to teach them how to apply it to their own 
position and to give them strength to carry it out in 
their lives. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit alone, 
separated from the revelation of life, which has come 
through Jesus Christ, would impel men to a vague 
striving after a holiness for the attainment of which 
they would have no guide. The case would never 
really occur; but some men have fancied themselves 
to be so guided by the Holy Spirit that they have no 
need of the Word to direct them. They have become 
a law unto themselves, with the result of losing all 
holiness of life.” 


CHAPTER IX 

THE PARACLETE 

A nd I will pray the Father, and he shall give you 
another Comforter, that he may abide with you 
forever.” John 14: 16. 

The word from which Comforter is translated in 
this text is the Greek word paraclete. This is the first 
instance of its use in the Bible. This word is used 
five times in the New Testament; four times by Jesus 
in the upper-room discourse to his disciples (John 14: 
16, 26; 15:26; 16:7), where it refers to the Holy 
Spirit, and once in i John 2:1, where it is translated 
“ advocate ” and refers to Christ : “ My little children, 
these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if 
any man sin, we have an advocate (paraclete) with 
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 

Much light is thrown on the subject of the position 
and work of the Holy Spirit by a careful study of the 
word paraclete, which our Saviour used in referring to 
the Holy Spirit in the upper-room discourse, and which 
is here translated “ Comforter.” I will send another 
Paraclete,” said the Master. “ If any man sin, we have 
a Paraclete,” says the beloved disciple. In the Re- 
vised Versions the word Comforter is given in the text 
John 14: 16. The margin, however, reads, “or Advo- 
cate, or Helper, Gr., Paraclete” 

The word paraclete is really an untranslatable word, 
it being difficult to find any word in the English tongue 
which fully expresses its meaning. The word advo- 
[60] 


The Paraclete 


61 


cate, as given in i John 2:1, perhaps comes nearer to 
conveying the real meaning than any other word. 

That we may arrive as nearly as possible at the true 
meaning of the word paraclete I quote several defini- 
tions from recognized authorities : — 

Grimm-Thayer defines it as ‘‘ summoned, called to 
one’s side (especially called to one's aid), i. One who 
pleads another’s cause before a judge, a pleader, coun- 
sel for defense, legal assistant, advocate. ... 3. (In 
the widest sense) a helper, a sue cover, aider, assistant.” 

Liddell and Scott: “ 1. Paraclete, called to one’s aid, 
assisting, especially in a court of justice. Latin, advo- 
catus: hence as substitute, a legal assistant, advocate. 
2. Generally, a helper.” 

“ Another Comforter, or ‘ Paraclete.’ This word is 
used not only of a person called in to plead another’s 
cause, but of one who is a helper in any matter, or 
generally a patron.” — Henry and Scott, comments on 
John 14: 16. 

“ This word paraclete, like its nearest Latin equiva- 
lent, advocate, which is once used to translate it, seems 
to embody mainly the conception of being called to 
one’s aid or summoned to, act as a substitute ; as, in a 
court of law, an advocate appears to conduct a case or 
cause in another’s behalf and as his representative.” — 
"" Acts of the Holy Spirit,” page 14. 

The word is used in classical Greek, and a word of 
similar etymology, from which our word advocate {ad- 
vocatus, called to another) is derived, is used in clas- 
sical Latin to denote a person who patronizes another 
in a judicial cause, and who appears in support of him. 
It was the custom, before the ancient tribunals, for the 


62 The Ministry of the Spirit 

parties to appear in court, attended by one or more of 
their most powerful and influential friends, who were 
called ‘ paracletes ’ — the Greek term — or ‘ advocates ^ 

— the Latin term. They were not advocates in our 
sense of the term — feed counsel ; they were persons 
who, prompted by affection, were disposed to stand by 
their friend; and persons in whose knowledge, wis- 
dom, and truth the individual having the cause had 
confidence. These paracletes, or advocates, gave their 
friends — *’ prospelatesf or ‘ clients,’ as they were called 

— the advantages of their character and station in so- 
ciety, and the aid of their counsel. They stood by them 
in the court, giving them advice, and speaking in their 
behalf when it was necessary. Jesus had been the p^ar- 
aclete of his disciples while he was with them.” — F. 
Brown, D. D., quoted in '' Peloubef s Notes,” i8pp. 

It is quite clear from the definitions of the word 
paraclete here given that the Saviour in speaking of 
the Holy Spirit, or Comforter, whom he would send to 
be with his church till the end of time, used a word 
that carried with it the idea of personality. The word 
means a “ helper,” an advocate,” a comforter,” all 
of which are titles of persons. “ Another Comforter ” 
does not mean simply the influence of the same “ Com- 
forter.” It is another, who is called in the spirit of 
prophecy “ the third person of the Godhead.” Our 
paraclete in heaven is Jesus Christ the righteous; our 
paraclete on earth is the Holy Spirit. With God the 
Father in heaven there is the Man Christ Jesus to plead 
the cause of men. “ And he that searcheth the hearts 
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he 
maketh intercession for the saints according to the will 


The Paraclete 


63 


of God.” Rom. 8 : 27, A. R. V. With man on earth 
is the Holy Spirit to plead the cause of God, and we 
are warned against grieving him by any sinful course. 
The Holy Spirit is not merely an influence, or power, 
or some enthusiasm; but, as the word paraclete sug- 
gests, a personality with a mind, thinking, planning, in- 
terceding, exerting an influence, wielding a power, 
awakening enthusiasm. 

I am aware that I should tread softly here. I am 
dealing with One whose nature is a mystery, where 
no “ fanciful views ” or “ human construction ” of 
Scripture should be given. I have no desire, nor do 
I deem it wise or profitable, to seek to define or ana- 
lyze the personality of either the Father, the Son, or 
the Holy Spirit. When it comes to definitions here, 
silence is indeed golden. The Godhead is incompre- 
hensible. But Christ used a word which means a per- 
son, and the Spirit himself, speaking to the church 
through a chosen instrument, calls the Holy Spirit 
“ the third person of the Godhead.” In view of these 
statements, if for no other reason, we feel warranted 
in attributing personality to the Holy Spirit. 

“ Paraclete is composed of two words — clete, which 
means ‘ called,’ and para, which means ‘ along with.’ 
It thus means exactly ‘ one who is called along with 
another,’ or ‘ one who is called to another’s aid.’ More 
definitely, the paraclete is one who is called along with 
the clete to aid him. And to understand the work of 
the paraclete, we need to understand the position of 
the clete. 

'' A man is called to appear before a court of justice 
to answer a charge made against him. He is clete, or 


64 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


' called.’ But he is ignorant of the law, and unable to 
plead well before his judges, therefore another is called 
to help him. There is no charge against this other; 
but he knows the law, and he is able to state the case 
well ; therefore he is ' called to help ’ the former ; he 
is his para-clete. In this case the word ad-vocate 
corresponds both in etymology and in meaning with the 
Greek word, and expresses the function which the 
paraclete is expected to perform. 

“ Or again, a man is called on to do a certain piece 
of work required of him ; he is clete. He finds that it 
is utterly beyond his power to do it alone; so another 
of greater strength is ‘ called to aid ’ him in that work ; 
he is his para-clete. 

“ The word thus means, not merely a helper, but 
one who is called or appointed to help another. He 
may be called to help by comforting as a comforter, by 
pleading as an advocate, by aiding as a fellow worker, 
or in some other way, according to the needs of the 
case. The name does not belong to him till the office 
or work is assigned to him, and the office or work 
depends on the requirements of those whom he is called 
to aid.” — The Holy Spirit the Paraclete pages 6, y. 

In legal jurisprudence there are two sorts of advo- 
cates: the one plead before the judges; the other are 
consulting advocates, who instruct and advise their 
clients. The same is true here, Jesus is an advocate 
of the first of these classes. He is our pleading advo- 
cate before the eternal Judge in heaven. But the Holy 
Spirit may be said to be our chamber counselor, who 
advises, instructs, and comforts us; gives us courage 
to address ourselves to God, boldness to speak to him 


The Paraclete 


65 


so that we may prevail. He convicts us of sin, and 
gives us power to overcome. Happy are we in having 
two such advocates, — one of whom pleads for us in 
heaven; and the other teaches us to form our requests 
on earth. 

This understanding of the meaning of the word 
paraclete will help us more fully to comprehend the 
statement in John 7 : 39 : '' The Holy Ghost was not yet 
given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” Had 
not the Spirit been in the world before ? — Certainly. 
It is through the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart 
that we are converted. Without the influence of the 
Spirit of God on the heart there would be no conver- 
sion. He produces conviction of sin. He awakens 
godly sorrow, and leads to repentance. All who have 
ever been converted and experienced a change of heart 
since the fall of man were moved to repentance by the 
Spirit of God. Why then the statement, “ not yet 
given ” ? The following throws light on these words : 
“ Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in 
every place personally. Therefore it was for their 
interest that he go to the Father, and send the Spirit 
to be his successor on earth T — The Desire of Agesf’ 
page ddp. ''Successor on earth.” The Holy Spirit, 
then, and not the Pope, is Christ’s special representa- 
tive, successor, or vicar, in the church on earth. The 
blasphemous claim of the papal church, therefore, un- 
seats the true representative of the throne of God in 
the church, and seats a man instead. 

It is evident, in the proper order of things, that the 
Holy Spirit could not take his official position in the 
church as the successor of Christ until after the ascen- 


5 


66 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

sion. As one writer says, “ The divine Artist could 
not fitly descend to make the copy before the original 
had been provided.” In the sense of his official capac- 
ity the Spirit was '' not yet given.” But on the day of 
Pentecost he descended in fulfillment of the promise 
of Jesus, and took his official seat in the church, to re- 
main there as the representative of Christ, who is the 
great head of the church, forever. Another has stated 
this so well that I quote his words : — 

“ Had the Holy Spirit not been among them? Had 
there been no divine guidance, no spiritual life? — Yes, 
there had. The Holy Spirit had worked in the world, 
but he had not been given to the world. He had in- 
spired prophets ; he had helped those who believed and 
obeyed, but he had not been given as a ‘gift not to be 
withdrawn.’ 

“We can understand this by comparing it with the 
gift of Jesus Christ. Had the eternal Word done noth- 
ing in the world before his incarnation? — Certainly he 
had; not only had he spoken in creation and in con- 
science, he had guided his people as the angel of the 
covenant. He had given the message to the prophets 
which the Spirit had inspired them to apprehend. He 
had worked ; but he had not been given. He had come 
as a presence that might come or go at pleasure. But 
when he came in the flesh, he was given not to be 
withdrawn. Nothing can now cancel or reverse the 
fact that the eternal Word has become a partaker of 
human nature, has passed through the course of human 
existence from birth to death, has done the work nec- 
essary to redeem mankind, and is in glorified humanity 
a partaker of our nature to all eternity. 


The Paraclete 


67 


“ So, too, the Holy Spirit had worked before the 
coming of Jesus Christ, but it was not till Jesus Christ 
had been given and had finished his work, that the 
Holy Spirit was given, an abiding presence with man, 
to carry out Christ's work in all generations. Had he 
been given previously, there would not have been the 
same full revelation of God and his purpose to apply 
to man, there would have been a waste of divine energy 
for want of a purpose on which to work. Not till the 
one Paraclete was given in his fullness, could the other 
Paraclete be given in his full power to apply the 
work.” — The Holy Spirit the Paraclete” pages 22, 2^. 

We greatly fear that we have lost much through 
a failure to recognize that the Holy Spirit is here, as 
one among us. “ It may be questioned whose loss is 
the greater, his who thinks that the Holy Spirit is pres- 
ent with him when he is not, or his who thinks not 
that the Spirit is present with him when he is.” 


CHAPTER X 


A DREAM 


HE late Rev. A. J. Gordon, one of the most spir- 



JL itiial and earnest ministers of recent years, related 
a dream that he once had, which led to marked results 
in his own life, and to reforms in the church of which 
he was pastor. As a result of this dream he said there 
“ came a blessed and ever-to-be-remembered crisis in 
my spiritual life when from a deeper insight into 
Scripture the doctrine of the Holy Spirit began to open 
to me. ... I had known the Holy Ghost as a heavenly 
influence to be invoked, but somehow I had not 
grasped the truth that he is a person of the Godhead 
who came down to earth at a definite time, and who 
has been in the church ever since, just as really as 
Jesus was here during the thirty and three years of 
his earthly life.” 

Concerning the changes which ensued, he speaks 
thus : ‘‘ Instead of praying constantly for the descent 
of a divine influence, there was now a surrender, how- 
ever imperfect, to a divine and ever-present Being. 
Instead of a constant effort to make use of the Holy 
Spirit for doing my work, there arose a clear and 
abiding conviction that the true secret of service lay in 
so yielding to the Holy Spirit that he might use me 
to do his work.” 

The dream was as follows : — 

“ It was Saturday night, when wearied from the 


[ 68 ] 


A Dream 


69 


work of preparing Sunday’s sermon, that I fell asleep 
and the dream came. I was in the pulpit before a full 
congregation, just ready to begin my sermon, when a 
stranger entered and passed slowly up the left isle of 
the church, looking first to one side and then to the 
other, as though silently asking with his eyes that some 
one would give him a seat. He had proceeded nearly 
halfway up the aisle when a gentleman stepped out 
and offered him a place in his pew, which was quietly 
accepted. Except the face and features of the stran- 
ger, everything in the scene is distinctly remembered, 
— the number of the pew, the Christian man who of- 
fered its hospitality, the exact seat which was occu- 
pied. Only the countenance of the visitor could never 
be recalled. That his face wore a peculiarly serious 
look, as of one who had known some great sorrow, 
is clearly impressed on my mind. His bearing, too, 
was exceedingly humble, his dress poor and plain, and 
from the beginning to the end of the service he gave 
the most respectful attention to the preacher. Imme- 
diately as I began my sermon my attention became 
riveted on this hearer. If I would avert my eyes from 
him for a moment, they would instinctively return to 
him, so that he held my attention rather than I held 
his till the discourse was ended. 

“ To myself I said constantly, ' Who can that stran- 
ger be ? ’ and then I mentally resolved to find out by 
going to him and making his acquaintance as soon as 
the service should be over. But after the benediction 
had been given, the departing congregation filed into 
the aisles, and before I could reach him the visitor had 
left the house. The gentleman with whom he had sat 


70 The Ministry of the Spirit 

remained behind, however, and approaching him with 
great eagerness, I asked : ‘ Can you tell me who that 
stranger was who sat in your pew this morning?’ 
In the most matter-of-fact way he replied : ‘ Why, do 
you not know that man? It was Jesus of Nazareth.’ 
With a sense of the keenest disappointment I said: 

‘ My dear sir, why did you let him go without intro- 
ducing me to him? I was so desirous to speak with 
him.’ With the same nonchalant air the gentleman 
replied : ‘ O, do not be troubled ! He has been here 
today, and no doubt he will come again.’ 

“ And now came an indescribable rush of emotion. 
As when a strong current is suddenly checked, the 
stream rolls back upon itself and is choked in its own 
foam, so the intense curiosity which had been going 
out toward the mysterious hearer now returned upon 
the preacher : and the Lord himself, ‘ whose I am, and 
whom I serve,’ had been listening to me today. What 
was I saying? Was I preaching on some popular 
theme in order to catch the ear of the public? Well, 
thank God, it was of himself I was speaking. How- 
ever imperfectly done, it was Christ and him cruci- 
fied whom I was holding up this morning. But in 
what spirit did I preach? Was it ‘Christ crucified 
preached in a crucified style ’ ? or did the preacher 
magnify himself while exalting Christ? So anxious 
and painful did these questionings become that I was 
about to ask the brother with whom he had sat if 
the Lord had said anything to him concerning the ser- 
mon, but a sense of propriety and self-respect at once 
checked the suggestion. Then immediately other ques- 
tions began with equal vehemence to crowd into the 


A Dream 


71 


mind : What did he think of our sanctuary, its Gothic 
arches, its stained windows, its costly and powerful 
organ? How was he impressed with the music and 
the order of the worship? It did not seem at that 
moment as though I could ever again care or have 
the smallest curiosity as to what men might say of 
preaching, worship, or church, if I could only know 
that he had not been displeased, that he would not 
withhold his feet from coming again because he had 
been grieved at what he might have seen or heard. 

“We speak of ‘a momentous occasion.’ This, 
though in sleep, was recognized as such by the dreamer 
— a lifetime, almost an eternity, of interest crowded 
into a single solemn moment. One present for an hour 
who could tell me all I have so longed to know ; who 
could point out to me the imperfections of my service ; 
who could reveal to me my real self, to whom, per- 
haps, I am most a stranger; who could correct the 
errors in our worship, to which long usage and ac- 
cepted tradition may have rendered us insensible. 
While I had been preaching for a half hour, he had 
been here and listening who could have told me all 
this and infinitely more — and my eyes had been holden 
that I knew him not ; and now he had gone. ‘ Yet a 
little while am I with you, and then I go unto him 
that sent me.’ 

“ One thought, however, lingered in my mind with 
something of comfort and more of awe. ' He has 
been here today, and no doubt he will come again ; ’ 
and mentally repeating these words as one regretfully 
meditating on a vanished vision, I awoke, and it was 
a dream .” — ‘'How Christ Came to Church,” pages 
28-32. 


72 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

Speaking further concerning the heart-searching ef- 
fect of the dream and the personal presence of Christ 
through the Spirit, Dr. Gordon says : — 

“ When it became a realized and unquestionable fact 
that in the person of the Holy Ghost, Jesus is just as 
truly in the midst of the church as he once stood in 
the company of his disciples and ^ showed them his 
hands and his feet,’ then the whole house began to be 
searched as with a lighted candle.” The question of 
“ pew rentals ” began to trouble him, with the sittings 
so graded that one could read the relative financial 
standing of the worshipers by noting their position in 
the broad aisles.” The popular desire for eloquence, 
for humor, for entertainment, for wit,” as a minister, 
also came under prayerful scrutiny. 

Then the question of a paid choir, with fine voices 
administering the service of song, the larger part of 
whose members “ made no profession of discipleship, 
and some were confessed disbelievers,” was pressed 
upon his mind. His conscience was distressed in ref- 
erence to such “ singers standing above the Communion 
table, leading a divinely appointed ministry of song.” 
“ Minstrels from Egypt ” had taken the place of that 
chastened, self-denying, holy song which no man 
can learn but they that have been redeemed.” 

From this searching of the sanctuary, occasioned by 
the mysterious Stranger seen in the dream, he was led 
to the conviction that to bring performers “ from the 
opera or from the theater on Sunday to regale the ears 
of the church with some flighty song of artistic musical 
display,” was wrong. 

” When I can consent,” he said, “ to have the Com- 


A Dream 


73 


munion table moved out into the court of the Gentiles, 
and call upon the thoughtless and unconverted to re- 
ceive the sacred elements lying thereon, then I may see 
the propriety of bringing a choir of unregenerated 
musical artists into the holy of holies of the church, 
and of committing to their direction the service of 
song. This conviction rests upon neither prejudice nor 
preference, but upon the fixed assurance that in the 
house of God I am servant, not the master, and that 
I have no alternative but to comply strictly with the 
divine arrangements of the church fixed by the Lord 
himself.” 

He was further led to give consideration to the ques- 
tion of church festivals, and felt horrified at the 
thought of being identified with such frivolities. Con- 
cerning this he says : '' Church amusements are simply 
parasites hiding underneath a religious exterior, while 
they eat out the life of Christianity. Sacred concerts, 
church fairs, ecclesiastical entertainments — how well 
the words sound in the ears of the unwary ! But when 
the Lord appeared walking among the golden candle- 
* sticks with countenance like the sun shining in his 
strength, their real inwardness was instantly revealed.” 

The lesson contained in this dream is a most instruc- 
tive and searching one. It led Dr. Gordon to seek for 
Spirit-filled church officers; to root up some strange 
plants he found growing in the sanctuary courts ; pew 
rentals were abolished, ecclesiastical entertainments 
were dropped ofif, unconverted musical artists were 
dispensed with, interest in foreign missions was deep- 
ened, and the church quickened. It should lead every 
minister of the word to a prayerful inquiry concern- 


74 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


ing his ministration of the word, for this Stranger sits 
in the pew before him. The lesson may be studied 
with profit by every congregation of believers. It 
should lead to deeper personal piety and consecration, 
to greater reverence and quiet decorum in the house 
of God, and to a study of the forms and ceremonies 
which attend the altar, that the Spirit be not grieved 
from the temple and leave the sanctuary of Jehovah 
desolate, and that the incense of praise which arises 
from our altars be rich with fragrance. 


CHAPTER XI 

THE SPIRIT PRESIDING IN THE CHURCH 

I N a former chapter consideration was given to the 
subject of the descent of the Paraclete on the day 
of Pentecost in fulfillment of prophecy and the prom- 
ise of Jesus to his disciples. It was seen how the 
Holy Spirit, from Pentecost till the end of the church’s 
warfare against sin, takes up his abode with the church 
on earth. The Spirit has his home and office in the 
church. The church is a holy temple in the Lord : 
in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation 
of God through the Spirit.” The Spirit tabernacles 
in the church, and God tabernacles there also, through 
the Spirit. The only temple the Lord has on earth 
during the present dispensation, is his church. And 
while Christ is ministering in the “ true tabernacle ” in 
heaven, the Spirit, his own representative, is minister- 
ing in the temple on earth, the church. 

“ If a man love me, he will keep my words : and my 
Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and 
make our abode with him.'' John 14: 23. It is through 
the Spirit that Jesus abides with his people ; for, speak- 
ing of the Spirit, the Saviour said, “ He dwelleth with 
you, and shall be in you.” John 14: 17. The Spirit 
not only dwells zvith us, but is in us as well, blessing, 
helping, and distributing gifts to each as he wills. This 
is indeed a blessed mystery. 

Through this Spirit, who comes not to speak of him- 

[75] 


76 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


self, but to exalt and glorify Christ, we have access 
unto God, and he will take of the things of God and 
show them unto us. He sits, not as a critic, but as a 
helper, enabling us to overcome sin and proclaim the 
gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.” 

Our need is not so much the sending of some nev/ 
power from heaven in some mysterious way in answer 
to prayer, as the recognition of a power already here. 
We need consecration — the forsaking of sin, the yield- 
ing to the Spirit — that we may be used to do God’s 
work. 

Having found that the Spirit has a place in the 
church, not simply as an influence, as light radiates 
from the sun, but as a real personality, it will be inter- 
esting to notice briefly a few instances recorded in the 
book of Acts which clearly indicate his presiding pres- 
ence in the early church. 

After Pentecost Ananias and his wife Sapphira, 
members of the church at Jerusalem, having sold a pos- 
session, conspired together to withhold “ part of the 
price.” When Ananias came to make his gift, Peter 
said to him, “ Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie 
to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part' of the price 
of the land ? ” Acts 5 : 3. And a little later when 
Sapphira came in, Peter said to her, “ How is it that 
ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the 
Lord?” Verse 9. The lie was “ to the Holy Ghost.” 
Back of the visible church to whom the vow was made, 
there was One presiding over the church as Christ’s 
representative, who by an awful act of judgment made 
known his presence in the church. And this lesson is 
for the church for all time, and should not be forgot- 


77 


The Spirit Presiding in the Church 

ten. Once for all, God has made “an example of an 
offender in some of the prominent forms of sin; such 
as, of Cain in murder, of Lot’s wife in loitering, of 
Achan in coveting, of Korah in presumption, of Uzza 
in profanation, of Saul in disobedience.” The experi- 
ence of Ananias and Sapphira stands as an awful 
warning against the sin of breaking vows, and thus 
lying to the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is in the 
true church now as truly as at Pentecost. 

When we make a vow to God to give him our heart, 
to give into his treasury a sum for the advancement 
of his work in the earth, to pay him an honest tithe, 
the vow is witnessed to by the Holy Spirit as truly as 
in the early church. “ The history of Ananias and 
Sapphira is giyen us that we may understand the sin 
of deception in regard to our gifts and offerings. 
They had voluntarily promised to give a portion of 
their property for the promotion of the cause of Christ ; 
but when the means was in their hands, they declined 
to fulfill that obligation, at the same time wishing it 
to appear to others that they had given all. Their 
punishment was marked, in order that it might serve 
as a perpetual warning to Christians in all ages. . . . 
The hearts of men become hardened through selfish- 
ness, and like Ananias and Sapphira, they are tempted 
to withhold part of the price, while pretending to come 
up to the rules of tithing.” — “ Testimonies for the 
Church” Vol. V, pages 148-150. 

In the sixth chapter of Acts we have an account of 
the choosing of certain officers — deacons — in the 
church. Notice the qualifications of these officers. 
“ Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven 


78 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wis- 
dom, whom we may appoint over this business.” The 
Spirit of God was recognized. It was not fluent talk- 
ers, shrewd business men, secular brethren who would 
deal in a cold, legal manner, that were to be selected, 
but spiritual men, men filled with the Holy Ghost. 

Here also is another lesson for the church today. If 
there was ever a time when the church needed spiritual 
leaders, it is now. And in selecting church officers the 
consideration should not be how long they have been 
in office, just how they will feel if not continued in 
the responsible position, but, Are they spiritual lead- 
ers ? Will they feed the church ? Has the Holy Spirit 
set his seal of approval upon them? 

“ A unique lesson on church life, indeed ! Let us 
lay stress on it, by repetition. Secular men — men of 
a worldly type of character and a secular spirit — have 
no place in the church of Christ; above all, no official 
place, though it be only in administering ‘ secular ’ af- 
fairs, and though they be men of both honest report 
and wisdom. The natural man, even when that term 
is used of the princes of this world, cannot receive the 
things of the Spirit, because they are spiritually dis- 
cerned; and therefore, so far as we put into office, or 
allow to occupy official positions in the church, men 
who have not the Spirit of God, who are chosen with- 
out reference to spiritual qualifications, we at least 
consent to an administration which is unspiritual in 
character, which is an offense to the Spirit, a virtual 
disputing of his headship, and, we hesitate not to add, 
in so far an actital unseating of the Spirit from his 
throne of control.. 


The Spirit Presiding in the Church 79 

“If this appears to any to be an extreme position, 
let such consider what, in other spheres of business, is 
the common course pursued when it is desired to rid 
a corporate body of its controlling or presiding head. 
We shall suppose a corporation to have a man as pres- 
ident whom for some^ reason it is deemed desirable 
quietly to oust, or displace. Gradually, in the subor- 
dinate offices and board of trustees or directors, meij 
are placed who are opposed to the presiding officer in 
method and spirit. They quietly antagonize his meas- 
ures, obstruct his plans, thwart his policy. Instead of 
cooperation and support, he meets inertia and indif- 
ference, if not violent opposition; until at last, unable 
to conduct affairs, he resigns from sheer inability to 
carry out what he regards as a true policy of adminis- 
tration.” — ''Acts of the Holy Spirit/' pages 62, 6^. 

Again, in what has been called “ The birth hour of 
early missions to the Gentiles ” we read : “ As they 
ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost 
said. Separate me» Barnabas and Saul for the work 
whereunto I have called them. ... So they, being 
sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia ; 
and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.” Acts 13: 2-4. 

“ I have called them.” The Spirit speaks here in 
the first person. He speaks, calls hy name and sends 
forth chosen missionaries. As the vicar of our as- 
cended Lord, the Spirit is present, directing the affairs 
of the church. The personality and activity of the 
Spirit of God in the direction of the church could 
hardly be any more clearly shown than it is here. We 
should not overlook the obvious lesson that this 
teaches. The Holy Spirit is present in the church to- 


80 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


day the same as in apostolic times, and should be rec- 
ognized. Those today who go forth in the work of 
saving souls, should be “ sent forth by the Holy 
Ghost.” God of course desires at all times to work 
through his organized body on earth. This calls for 
great consecration of life in those intrusted with offi- 
cial responsibility in the church of God, that they may 
be directed by the Spirit in all things. 

At the council of Jerusalem, matters which greatly 
disturbed the church were studied, and after careful 
consideration decisions were made. In narrating the 
conclusions of the council the record says, “ It seemed 
good to the Holy Ghost, and to us.” Acts 15:28. 
Here the Holy Spirit is first. He is recognized, and 
treated as a fellow counselor whose presence had been 
with them in their deliberations. 

Here is a lesson for all ages on the true character 
of church councils. What we call a ‘ court of Jesus 
Christ ’ has too often been more like an assembly of 
unbelievers, if not like a ‘ synagogue of Satan.’ When 
in church meetings for business, — even business so 
sacred as the election of a pastor, — and when in those 
higher courts where the wider interests of the churches 
are adjusted, we find subtlety and diplomacy, worldly 
policy and temporizing expediency, even downright 
deception and dishonesty, practiced ; when we find a 
party spirit existing, and warring factions, hot with 
controversy, waging ecclesiastical warfare, and poli- 
ticians pulling wires and pursuing personal and selfish 
schemes; when we hear little prayer or praise, and 
much noise and confusion and clamor of excited if not 
angry debate, and occasionally witness scenes of uproar 


The Spirit Presiding in the Church 81 

that would disgrace a political caucus, — we have been 
compelled to stop and, ask, Is this a court of Christ f 
Is the Holy Ghost here? Is this the see of a divine 
Archbishop, or is it the ‘ seat of Satan ’ ? ” — Id., page 
lop. 

We have perhaps never witnessed just such scenes 
in the church as are here described. We devoutly hope 
not. But wherever “ pulling wires,” “ debate,” or 
‘‘ caucus ” may have appeared among us, whether in 
different forrn or lesser degree, the principle remains 
the same. The Holy Spirit is greatly grieved. 

When Paul and his companions in labor were seek- 
ing to know the place where they should labor for God, 
they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the 
word in Asia,” and when they ‘‘ assayed to go into 
Bithynia,” the Spirit suffered them not.'' But while 
restrained from certain fields, they were directed to 
Macedonia. In some marked way the Spirit of God 
was present, directing his chosen laborers. And 
though they were soon imprisoned at Philippi, yet the 
Lord glorified his name, and before the morning dawn 
they were encouraged by having a company of baptized 
believers. 

Today, as truly as in Paul’s time, the Spirit of God 
is present to help and strengthen the church. It 
awaits our demand and reception. Speaking concern- 
ing the great conflict through which his laborers must 
pass, the following words have been written : — 

“ They [his laborers] are to contend with supernat- 
ural forces, but they are assured of supernatural help. 
All the intelligences of heaven are in this army. And 
more than angels are in the ranks. The Holy Spirit, 


6 


82 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


the representative of the Captain of the Lord's host, 
comes down to direct the battle. Our infirmities may 
be many, our sins and mistakes grievous ; but the grace 
of God is for all who seek it with contrition. The 
power of Omnipotence is enlisted in behalf of those 
who trust in God.” — The Desire of Ages,” page 352. 

“ More than angels ” in the ranks ! The Holy Spirit, 
who is here called the “ representative of the Captain 
of the Lord’s host,” is present, directing the battle, 
and commanding all the “ intelligences of heaven.” 
The Spirit, by means of these heavenly intelligences, is 
everywhere present. With such a mighty leader as the 
direct representative of Heaven, with “ ten thousand 
times ten thousand and thousands of thousands ” of 
mighty angels, cherubim, and seraphim at his com- 
mand, truly the powers of hell shall not prevail against 
the church. 

“ The wheel-like complications that appeared to the 
prophet to be involved in such confusion were under 
the guidance of an infinite hand. The Spirit of God, 
revealed to him as moving and directing these wheels, 
brought harmony out of confusion ; so the whole world 
was under his control. Myriads of glorified beings 
were ready at his word to overrule the power and pol- 
icy of evil men, and bring good to his faithful ones.” — 
"" Testimonies for the Church,” VoL V, page 752. 

O, that we might recognize the presence of the Holy 
Spirit in a fuller sense than ever before, and- allow 
him to preside in our lives, to be the presiding officer 
in the General Conference, every union conference, 
every local conference, every church, and every indi- 
vidual heart ! 


CHAPTER XII 

NAMES AND EMBLEMS 

I T is quite impossible for any one name, emblem, or 
figure to set forth fully the character and work of 
Christ. Many different names, therefore, are given to 
him. He is also represented by figures or symbols in 
the Scriptures, each of which reveals to us a new pic- 
ture of our Redeemer. He is the Son of God and the 
Son of man, the Lamb and the Lion, the Branch and 
the Vine, the Bread and the Rock, the Servant of all 
and the King of kings ; like a refiner’s fire and fullers’ 
soap. He is Immanuel, the Shepherd, the Star, a Sun, 
and a Shield. Many other titles and appellations are 
used, each giving us additional light concerning his 
work as the world’s Redeemer. 

The same is true concerning the Holy Spirit. Dif- 
ferent names, titles, and emblems are used in the Bible 
to designate the exalted nature and office of the Spirit, 
and to throw light upon his work in the world in be- 
half of a lost race. 

The following are some of the names and titles of 
the Holy Spirit given in the Scriptures: — 

Comforter. John 14: 16, 26; 15:26. 

Eternal Spirit. Heb. 9 : 14. 

Free Spirit. Ps. 51 : 12. 

Good Spirit. Neh. 9 : 20. 

Holy Spirit. Ps. 51:11; Luke n : 13. 

Power of the Highest. Luke i : 35. 


[83] 


84 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


The Spirit. Matt. 4: i ; John 3:6; i Tim. 4: i. 

Spirit of the Lord God. Isa. 61:1. 

Spirit of the Lord. Isa. 11:2; Acts 5 : 9. 

Spirit of God. Gen. 1:2; i Cor. 2:11. 

Spirit of the Father. Matt. 10:20. 

Spirit of Christ. Rom. 8:9; i Peter i: tt. 

Spirit of the Son. Gal. 4 : 6. 

Spirit of life. Rom. 8 : 2. 

Spirit of grace. Heb. 10:29. 

Spirit of adoption. Rom. 8: 15. 

Spirit of wisdom. Eph. 1:17. 

Spirit of counsel. Isa. 11:2. 

Spirit of might. Isa. 11:2. 

Spirit of understanding. Isa. 11:2. 

Spirit of knowledge. Isa. 11:2. 

Spirit of the fear of the Lord. Isa. 11:2. 

Spirit of truth. John 14:17; 15:26. 

Spirit of holiness. Rom. i : 4. 

Spirit of revelation. Eph. i : 17. 

Spirit of judgment. Isa. 4: 4. 

Spirit of burning. Isa. 4 : 4. 

Spirit of glory, i Peter 4: 14. 

Each of these names conveys a special meaning, and 
helps us to understand more fully the deep and myste- 
rious work of the Holy Spirit. We shall notice only 
a few of the names and emblems which are given, 
hoping the lesson they contain will be helpful : — 

The Spirit. With this name we readily associate 
such other titles as the “ Spirit of life,” “ eternal 
Spirit,” “ the Spirit of truth,” “ the Spirit of holiness,” 
“ the Spirit of judgment,” “ the Spirit of wisdom and 
understanding,” ” the Spirit of Christ,” “ the Spirit of 


Names and Emblems 


85 


the living God,” each of which has a distinct meaning. 
The name Spirit suggests life. He is called the “ Spirit 
of life in Christ Jesus.” “ The Spirit of God hath 
made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given 
me life.” Job 33 : 4. “ The Spirit is life because of 
righteousness.” Rom. 8 : 10. This is the figure used 
in John 20:22, where Jesus “breathed” on his disci- 
ples, and “ saith unto them. Receive ye the Holy 
Ghost.” The church is a “ habitation of God through 
the Spirit.” Eph. 2:22. To receive the Spirit is to 
receive the very life of God, to have him dwell with 
us, live in us, and impart unto us his own spiritual life 
and power. It is the taking away of the carnal mind 
and the giving to us of his own mind, setting us free 
from the law of sin and death. 

And further, he is not simply called the Spirit, but 
the Holy Spirit. This title is frequently used in the 
Word of God. We shall do well to weigh thoughtfully 
and prayerfully its meaning. God is holy. The un- 
numbered millions of mighty angels around his throne 
are holy, and continually cry, “ Holy, holy, holy.” 
Christ is holy. The Spirit of God represents a holy 
being and a kingdom of holiness. This is a solemn 
thought. To invite such a being to dwell with us 
means much. We can be assured that the Holy Spirit 
will have no communion, or fellowship, with unholi- 
ness, or sin, nor dwell in an unclean, defiled temple. 
Verily has God said: “ If any man defile the temple of 
God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is 
holy, which temple ye are.” i Cor. 3: 17. We pray 
for the Spirit to come and dwell with us. But what 
will he find when he comes? Will he find selfishness. 


86 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


impurity, uncleanness, worldliness, pride, sin? If so, 
are we willing to yield all these things, allowing him 
to cleanse the temple and control our lives? He will 
cleanse every heart if permitted to have his way. The 
very denizens of the underworld, if they will but yield 
to him, can be cleansed from sin and made to be the 
children of the Lord. He will help the infirmities of 
us all. But we must be willing. He kindly knocks at 
every heart; if welcomed, he enters; if not, dovelike 
and gentle, he retires and patiently waits. 

Another emblem is that of a dove. “ And the Holy 
Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon 
him.” Luke 3 : 22. How appropriate that such a beau- 
tiful emblem should be seen in connection with the 
Saviour! No need here of a symbol of fire or wind, 
but that of gentleness. The Spirit found perfect com- 
munion with Jesus, and it “ abode upon him.” What 
purity, peace, gentleness, kindness, and love are sug- 
gested by this symbol! It reminds one of the olive 
branch of peace. How retiring is the dove, and clean 
in life. She will not intrude. If received kindly, she 
will abide; if not, she will retire, and mournfully watch 
and wait, seeking a resting place where she may abide 
in gentleness and love. How careful we should be that 
we do not by rude, unkind, uncultured, sinful acts 
grieve from our hearts the dovelike influence of the 
Holy Spirit. 

Another emblem used is fire. The Word speaks of 
the ‘^Spirit of burning.” Isa. 4:4. On the day of 
Pentecost “ there appeared unto them cloven tongues 
like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” Acts 
2:3. The figure is a strong and impressive one, though 


Names and Emblems 


87 


blessed, when understood. God is a “ consuming fire.” 
There are things which neither water nor anything else 
save fire can cleanse. Fire consumes the dross and 
purifies the gold. It tests metal as well. So we, like 
silver or gold, need to be “ refined,” purified, and 
tested. The Holy Spirit is like a fire in the heart, con- 
suming sin and illuminating and purifying the life. 
When Isaiah in holy vision saw the Lord of hosts in 
all his glory, and felt undone because of his sins, a 
seraph “ having a live coal in his hand, which he had 
taken with the tongs from off the altar,” laid it upon 
the prophet’s mouth, and said, “ Lo, this hath touched 
thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin 
purged.” Isa. 6:6, 7. It is by this emblem of fire, 
searching and sometimes painful in its operation, that 
we enjoy the blessed and holy communion of the Spirit. 
If permitted, it will consume all the sin and dross in 
the heart, and allow only that to remain which has 
been tried by fire. 

“ O that in me the sacred fire 
Might now begin to glow; 

Burn up the dross of base desire, 

And make the mountains flow ! 

“ Thou who at Pentecost didst fall, 

Do thou my sins consume; 

Come, Holy Ghost, for thee I call — 

Spirit of burning, come. 

“ Refining fire, go through my heart ; 

Illuminate my soul; 

Scatter thy life through every part 
And sanctify the whole. 

“ My steadfast soul, from falling free, 

Shall then no longer move. 

While Christ is all the world to me, 

And all my heart is love.” 


88 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


Another emblem is that of a seal. “ In whom ye 
also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the 
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye 
believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of prom- 
ise.” Eph. 1 : 13. This was a familiar figure to the 
Ephesians. Ephesus was a maritime port, with an 
extensive trade in timber. After purchasing timber 
the merchant stamped it with his own signet, or seal, 
which was the acknowledged sign of ownership. The 
timber so sealed henceforth belonged to that merchant. 
So the Spirit seals us, and we in a special sense become 
our Lord’s property. The seal of the Spirit means the 
certainty of the promise of God. It indicates security, 
as none can break the seal of God. It suggests holi- 
ness, for it is the earnest, or pledge, of our inherit- 
ance.” It is, as it were, the very beginning, or fore- 
taste, of heaven to us when received. 

Another emblem is that of the wind. “ The wind 
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound 
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and 
whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the 
Spirit.” John 3:8. The Revised Version (margin) 
reads, “ The Spirit breatheth where it will, and thou 
hearest the voice thereof, but knoweth not whence it 
cometh, and whither it goeth.” Bengal’s translation 
reads, The Spirit breatheth where he wills, and thou 
hearest his voice.” 

The Holy Spirit is not the wind, but in some of its 
workings is like the wind. The emblem is a striking 
and impressive one. It indicates mysteriousness. 
None can understand the operation of the wind. It is 
everywhere. Where does it come from ? Where does 


Names and Emblems 


89 


it go? So with the Spirit of God. This Person is 
veiled in impenetrable and unsearchable mystery. But 
in every place, under all conditions and circumstances, 
somehow, in some way, he is visiting hearts and trans- 
^ forming lives. 

Then the wind is sovereign in its operations. It 
“ bloweth where it listeth.” It is beyond our dictation, 
or control. We cannot change atmospheric conditions, 
nor determine the point of the compass from which the 
breezes shall blow, or whether they shall be hot or cold. 
So with the Spirit. He, too, is sovereign. He divides 
‘‘to every man severally as he zmll/' i Cor. 12: ii. 
It remains for us to yield to his power, and come into 
harmony with the laws which govern his operations. 

Again : the wind is irresistible. Think of its power. 
Who can stop it ? See it stir and lash the mighty ocean 
into violent fury until its crested waves lift up like 
mountains. See it tear the forest in pieces, uprooting 
great and mighty trees. See it wreck and ruin the 
proudest and most enduring works of man. Recently, 
while traveling in Canada, I passed over the track of 
an awful tornado. A beautiful city was in ruins; great 
buildings were removed like toys. The hospitals were 
crowded, and the funeral trains moved mournfully to 
the city of the dead, while the mourners went about 
the streets. The ruin was awful and indescribable. 
Though invisible, the power of this material agency 
was irresistible, and the effects were visible. 

It is even so with the Holy Spirit. Though he is 
invisible, we see his operations, great and irresistible, 
making effective the gospel in human hearts. Nations 
have sought to stop his work; their lawmakers have 


90 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


passed decrees. But these nations have passed into the 
tomb of time; their senators are dead, and their de- 
crees forgotten. But the work of the Spirit continues, 
and millions know the transforming effect in their own 
and others’ lives. Truly we cannot use the Spirit; the 
Spirit is to use us. 

“ Some quiet Sabbath day you visit a church. 
Everything about the outward appointments of the 
church is all that could be desired. There is an at- 
tractive meetinghouse, an expensive organ, a gifted 
choir, a scholarly preacher. The service is well ar- 
ranged, but you have not been long at the gathering 
before you are forced to see that there is no life, that 
it is all form, and that there is really nothing being 
accomplished for God or for man. You go away with 
a heavy heart. 

“ Months afterward you have occasion to visit the 
church again ; the outward appointments of the church 
are much as they were before, but the service has not 
proceeded far before you notice a great difference. 
There is a new power in the singing, a new spirit in 
the prayer, a new grip in the preaching, everything 
about the church is teeming with the life of God. 
What has happened? The Wind of God has blown 
upon that church; the Holy Spirit, the Holy Wind, 
has come. 

‘‘ You go some day to hear a preacher of whose 
abilities you have heard great reports. As he stands 
up to preach, you soon learn that nothing too much 
has been said in praise of his abilities from the merely 
intellectual and rhetorical standpoints. His diction is 
faultless, his style beautiful, his logic unimpeachable. 


Names and Emblems 


91 


his orthodoxy beyond criticism. It is an intellectual 
treat to listen to him, and yet, after all, as he preaches 
you cannot avoid a feeling of sadness, for there is no 
real grip, no real power, indeed no reality of any kind, 
in the man’s preaching. You go away with a heavy 
heart at the thought of this waste of magnificent 
abilities. 

“ Months, perhaps years, pass by, and you again find 
yourself listening to this celebrated preacher, but what 
a change ! The same faultless diction, the same beau- 
tiful style, the same unimpeachable logic, the same 
skillful elocution, the same sound orthodoxy, but now 
there is something more; there is reality, life, grip, 
power, in the preaching. Men and women sit breath- 
less as he speaks, sinners bow with tears of contrition, 
pricked to their hearts with conviction of sin ; men and 
women and boys and girls renounce their selfishness 
and their sin and their worldliness, and accept Jesus 
Christ, and surrender their lives to him. What has 
happened? The Wind of God has blown upon that 
man.” — '' The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit,'' 
pages 45-47. 

Through the blessed Spirit the Lord is working 
transformations in human hearts so amazing that the 
angelic host look with astonishment upon these chil- 
dren of God, changed from a life of sin to one of 
holiness and power. Shall we not open our hearts and 
bid this unseen Guest abide with us? 

“ Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire ; 

Let us thine influence prove, — 

Source of the old prophetic fire. 

Fountain of life and love." 


CHAPTER XIII 


CONDITIONS OF SPIRIT FILLING 

I N the heart of every child of God there is an intense 
longing for spiritual power. For this he earnestly 
prays. But must he ask and not receive, seek and not 
find, knock and the door not open? We cannot so 
believe, for the Lord says, For every one that asketh 
receiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that 
knocketh it shall be opened.” Luke ii : lo. 

We wish to study concerning that personal fellow- 
ship and communion with the Holy Spirit which is 
promised, — to study how we can personally receive the 
fullness of spiritual power in our experience and la- 
bors which we so much need and for which we long. 
This is of vital concern to us. The Spirit is here; but 
unless he abides in us, his presence will do us but little 
good. 

It is not implied that we have not experienced the 
work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. The Spirit is 
omnipresent. He is seeking a place in every heart. 
Conversion is the work of the Spirit ; we must be born 
of the Spirit. God’s people everywhere have a meas- 
ure of his Spirit. But there is a fullness that is lack- 
ing. There is a gift of the Spirit for service that is 
not experienced as it should be. The disciples had 
experienced the work of the Spirit in their lives, but 
they needed a greater fullness, a baptism for service; 
so the Saviour admonished them, “ Tarry ye in the city 
[92] 


93 


Conditions of Spirit Filling 

of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on 
high.” Luke 24 : 49. 

We must understand clearly how we can receive the 
Spirit into the heart, not as a transient visitor, but as 
an abiding guest. We need not fail in this, for God’s 
promises are sure; he has marked out the path very 
clearly, and when we follow his counsel the promised 
blessing will surely be realized. 

In Eph. 5:18 we read: “Be not drunk with wine, 
wherein is excess ; but be filled with the Spirit.” Here 
is a plain command of universal application. Be not 
intoxicated with wine, but be Spirit-filled men, the 
apostle says. Why is this experience not realized? 
The trouble is just here: before the filling there is an 
emptying. A vessel cannot be filled with pure, clean 
water until all the rubbish has been emptied out. The 
same is true in spiritual matters. The emptying may 
be painful, doubtless will be; but it is absolutely nec- 
essary to being Spirit filled. 

“ In the great and measureless gift of the Holy Spirit 
are contained all of heaven’s resources. It is not be- 
cause of any restriction on the part of God that the 
riches of his grace do not flow earthward to men. If 
all were willing to receive, all would become filled with 
his Spirit.” — “ Christ's Object Lessons," page 419. 

All of heaven’s resources at our command through 
the Spirit, but held in check, and we destitute, cold, 
and lifeless, because we are unwilling to receive, un- 
willing to be emptied that we might be filled! We need 
not any longer wonder as to the reason of our lack of 
spiritual power. This reaches the root of the diffi- 
culty. It is because we love sin in some form, and are 


94 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

unwilling to give it up, that we do not receive the 
promised fullness of the Holy Spirit. This is indeed a 
sad condition. 

There is a preparation, a getting ready, to receive 
the heavenly Guest. The Spirit is as free as air, free 
for the asking ; yet there is a price to be paid, not once, 
but daily and hourly. There are terms, certain condi- 
tions, upon which the Holy Spirit takes his abode 
in the temple of our bodies. Is he asked to share 
the throne with another, or is he to be the sole occu- 
pant? We must settle this question. Christ, through 
the Spirit, will be Lord of all, or he will not be Lord 
at all. All depends on our decision in this matter. 

The Representative of Christ in this world is sov- 
ereign ; he will not sit on the throne with an idol. Here 
is where many fail, and the longing cry for Spirit fill- 
ing goes unanswered. They set up in their heart some 
idol, some pet, keepsake sin, some darling indulgence, 
and then ask the Spirit to sit enthroned with this un- 
clean thing by his side. What a presumptuous insult 
to offer to the Holy Spirit! It is a clean temple he 
demands, not some den of impurity and wickedness, 
where selfishness, pride, and lust hold sway. When 
the Spirit takes up his abode in us, he is enthroned in 
the mind. It is a pure, clean mind that he wants to fill. 
Vile thoughts must be stamped out; unchaste, lasciv- 
ious imaginations must be cast down. All our affec- 
tions must be centered in God. Though our flesh re- 
mains the same, there must be a new mind, created 
after the image of Christ. In short, the rubbish of sin 
must be put away, the vessel must be cleansed if it is 
to be used by the Master. 


Cofiditions of Spirit Filling 95 

Among the things that hinder the infilling of the 
Spirit may be mentioned : — 

1. Regarding iniquity in the heart. 

2. Censoriousness. 

3. Self-dependence. 

4. Gossiping, talebearing, backbiting. 

5. Resisting the conviction of sin. 

6. Dishonesty in dealings, driving sharp bargains, 
scheming. 

7. Refusing to confess to those we have wronged. 

8. Refusing to make restitution where we should. 

9. Being prejudiced and uncandid. 

10. A revengeful spirit ; carrying some old grudge 
in the heart. 

11. Worldly ambition. 

12. Being resentful, envious, jealous. 

13. Quenching the Spirit by wrongdoing. 

14. Grieving the Spirit by dissension. 

15. Indulgence of bad temper. 

16. Impatience and fretfulness. 

17. Vain and trifling conversation. 

18. Various forms of selfishness, covetousness, 
stinginess. 

19. Unclean thoughts ; impure imaginations. 

20. Neglect of prayer. 

21. Neglect to study the Bible. 

22. Lack of consecration. 

23. Hatred in the heart. 

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which 
are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciv- 
iousness, . . . variance, emulations, wrath, strife, se- 
ditions, heresies, envyings, . . . and such like : of the 


96 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time 
past, that they which do such things shall not inherit 
the kingdom of God.” Gal. 5: 19-21. 

What an unclean brood are all these ! And it is such 
a “ den of thieves ” as the foregoing that robs us of 
the abundant blessings which the Lord has promised. 
But while we are repeatedly assured that the Spirit of 
the pure and holy God will not live in a temple where 
such thieves are welcomed, if we are willing to have 
the temple cleansed, the Spirit will come in with a whip 
of cords and drive out these unholy traffickers, illumi- 
nate every dark corner where the cobwebs of sin have 
been allowed to accumulate, and make the heart a fit 
habitation in which to dwell. It is ours to will; it is 
the Spirit’s to do. 

But the question is asked. How can I empty myself? 
I have tried and tried, and I seem to be as full of sin 
and uncleanness as ever. We cannot empty ourselves 
any more than we can fill ourselves. We cannot will 
darkness out of a room. But all we need to do is to 
open the windows and let the light in, and the darkness 
will be gone. We cannot work the selfishness, pride, 
and envy out of the heart, but by faith we can accept 
the promises of God, and present ourselves to him as 
vessels to be emptied, and he will pour in the blessed 
light of his Spirit and dispel the darkness. “ For I 
will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods 
upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy 
seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.” Isa. 

44:3- 

“ Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to 
his church, and the promise belongs to us as much as 


97 


Conditions of Spirit Filling 

to the first disciples. But like every other promise, it 
is given on conditions F — "" The Desire of Ages,” page 
6J2. 

It is intensely interesting to study the Bible in search 
of the conditions upon which the Lord has promised 
to bestow upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit. We 
shall notice some of these as mentioned in the Word, 
not necessarily in the order of their importance. 

“ Admit him ere his anger burn ; 

His feet departed, ne’er return: 

Admit him, or the hour’s at hand 
When at his door denied you’ll stand. 

“But will he prove a friend indeed? 

He will, the very friend you need — 

The Friend of sinners; yes, ’tis he, 

With garments dyed on Calvary.” 


7 


CHAPTER XIV 


THIRST 

TN the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus 
stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him 
come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as 
the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow 
rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the 
Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: 
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that 
Jesus was not yet glorified.) ” John 7: 37-39. 

We must desire the Spirit. We must hunger and 
thirst for it as for food. We must long for it above all 
things else on earth. Those who do, the Lord has 
promised to fill. He hath filled the hungry with good 
things ; and the rich he hath sent empty away.’’ Luke 
1:53. I remember once hearing a man relate how he 
had experienced real thirst. He was lost on the plains. 
He wandered about seeking if possible to find his way. 
The earth was parched, the sun was hot. He grew 
thirsty. His tongue began to swell, and every pore in 
his body cried, ‘‘ Water ! water ! ” He said he finally 
reached the place where he would gladly have given all 
his land and money for a good drink of pure, cold 
water. This was real thirst, such as the psalmist ex- 
presses : As the hart panteth after the water brooks, 
so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” Ps. 42: i. 

When our thirst for the fullness of the Spirit be- 
comes so intense that we are willing to yield ail to 
[98] 


Thirst 


99 


God that we may drink from this refreshing spring, we 
shall be filled. “ For I will pour water upon him that 
is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground : I will pour 
my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine 
offspring.” Isa. 44 : 3. This is a blessed experience. 
To the woman at Jacob’s well, Jesus said: “ But who- 
soever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall 
never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall 
be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting 
life.” John 4: 14. 

It is indeed true, as the Saviour said, that those who 
drink of any earthly fountain, no matter how inviting 
it may be, will receive no permanent satisfaction. 
They will thirst again. We see about us those who are 
seeking for happiness by drinking at the fountain of 
wealth. But it does not satisfy. The wise man de- 
clares, “ He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied 
with silver.” Eccl. 5:10. I heard of a dying capital- 
ist who had spent all his life in the accumulation of 
wealth. In his last hours a friend asked him how 
much money it took to satisfy a man. His answer 
was, One dollar more.” The fountain of wealth 
does not bring happiness or joy unto the life. “He 
that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver.” 
When death enters the home with his summons, all 
must go, whether millionaire or pauper, and all in this 
life must be left behind. 

Out in front of Vanderbilt’s brown stone mansion 
on Fifth Avenue, New York, assembled several thou- 
sand people on the day of his funeral. A reporter for 
a great newspaper stood near a group of workingmen, 
and a laboring man was heard to make this remark : — 


100 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


“ Well, well, well, so that’s Vanderbilt in that coffin 
they are carrying down the steps, is it?” as the pall- 
bearers came down with the body. 

“ Yes.” 

•‘Well,” he said, “boys. I’ve stood just about here 
many a time and have watched Vanderbilt walk down 
those steps, enter his carriage, and drive away to Wall 
Street, and he was worth hundreds of millions, and I 
didn’t have a cent in my pocket. Today it’s changed. 
He is coming down the steps without a cent in his 
pocket, and I have two dollars.” 

This incident well illustrates the uncertainty and 
fickleness of earthly things. In the hour of death or 
adversity they mock us. 

We find others seeking satisfaction by drinking at 
the fountain of pleasure. Many have tried it for years, 
but can testify that it is a failure. The husks and pods 
of sin do not satisfy the real cravings of the heart. 
Some we see drinking at the fountain of fame. For a 
time it lures them on, but in the end there is an aching 
void. When death begins to feel for the heartstrings, 
when circumstances change and fame begins to wane, 
when former friends desert, and the infirmities of the 
flesh begin to assert themselves, the real emptiness of 
earthly things is made to appear. 

“ I will give you a check for a million dollars,” said 
one who had reveled in wealth and pleasure, to his at- 
tending physician, “ if you will prolong my life one 
year.” But even as he spoke, the death damp gathered 
on his forehead, and he was gone, 

And when death comes, worldly fame and honor are 
ended forever. I have read that when Charlemagne 


Thirst 


101 


died, he was carried into a sepulcher and seated on a 
throne of ivory inlaid with gold and set with precious 
jewels ; he was clothed with purple robes of royalty ; on 
his head was put a jeweled crown, on his finger a 
signet ring, in his hand a scepter, symbolic of his 
power ; on his lap was laid a scroll chronicling his 
deeds and recording his victories on the battle field. 
And the tomb of Charlemagne was sealed. 

Ages after, men broke the seal of the tomb. Time 
had eaten the flesh from his bones, and there on the 
ivory throne, inlaid with precious stones, sat a skeleton. 
At its feet was lying a heap of dust which at one time 
had been Charlemagne’s flesh and robes. His crown 
had dropped onto his shoulders, his ring had slipped 
from his finger. Time had gnawed the hand that had 
grasped the scepter, and scepter and all were lying on 
the floor. His greatness indeed had fled, and the sub- 
jects of his kingdom were numbered with him in the 
tomb. Truly no earthly thing endures. 

Some are drinking at the muddy fountain of human 
philosophy ; but philosophy affords no foundation upon 
which to stand, no rock upon which to build the struc- 
ture of life. 

How different the spring of life, the Holy Spirit! 
It is always with us in its freshness and power. When 
sick or in distress; when circumstances and environ- 
ments are against us; when without friends and af- 
flicted; when called, perhaps, to stand by the casket 
and view for the last time a most cherished loved 
one; even in the hour of sore bereavement, in cloudy 
days and starless nights, this fountain, like a per- 
ennial spring, gushes forth and fills our souls with 


102 The Ministry of the Spirit 

joy and peace, and the heart, though broken, finds 
comfort. 

From within those who drink of this fountain will 
flow a river of blessing to cheer other weary, forlorn 
hearts, and to water not only their own desert experi- 
ence, but the barren experience of others who have 
never found the true source of blessing, and have not 
drunk of that fountain of life which has been opened 
for sin and uncleanness. O that we might indeed 
thirst, for the promise is sure that '' they which do 
hunger and thirst after righteousness ” shall be filled. 
Matt : 5 : 6. 

“ There is a fountain filled with blood 
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins; 

And sinners plunged beneath that flood 
Lose all their guilty stains. 

“ The dying thief rejoiced to see 
That fountain in his day; 

And there may I, though vile as he, 

Wash all my sins away.” 


CHAPTER XV 


PRAYER 

A nother necessary step in the reception of the 
Holy Spirit is prayer. If ye then, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children : how 
much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy 
Spirit to them that ask him? ” Luke ii : 13. 

A prayerless life is a Spiritless life. There will 
never be found a fullness of the Spirit in the lives of 
those who neglect prayer. Find a cold, lifeless back- 
slider, and you find a prayerless life. A study of the 
lives of those through whom the power of the Holy 
Spirit has been greatly manifested, reveals that they 
were men of prayer. Elijah prayed until the cloud 
was seen. Daniel prayed three times a day with an 
edict of death staring him in the face. Evening, and 
morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud,” said 
the psalmist. Moses prayed, and turned away from 
rebellious Israel the wrath of Jehovah. Anna the 
prophetess “ served God with fastings and prayers 
night and day.” Paul, writing to the Ephesians, told 
them he was mentioning them in his prayers, and ex- 
horted them to earnest prayer for themselves. Pray- 
ing always with all prayer and supplication in the 
Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance 
and supplication for all saints.” Eph. 6:18. John 
Wesley had his prayer room.” Luther prayed much. 
Moody was a man of prayer. 


[103] 


104 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


Before the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were 
waiting for the promised blessing, we read that they 

all continued with one accord in prayer and suppli- 
cation, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, 
and with his brethren.” Acts i : 14. Mark that this 
was not some hasty prayer of those so busy with 
cares that they did not take time to pray, but it was 
continued prayer. After Pentecost, deacons were 
chosen to look after temporal matters in the church. 
And the disciples said, “We will give ourselves con- 
tinually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” 
Acts 6 : 4. 

Again we read : “ And when they had prayed, the 
place was shaken where they were assembled together ; 
and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they 
spake the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31. 
No such wonderful manifestation of God’s glory and 
power as this had been seen perhaps since the days of 
Solomon, when “ the priests could not stand to minis- 
ter because of the cloud : for the glory of the Lord had 
filled the house of the Lord.” i Kings 8:11. Earth- 
quake power was manifested. The earth shook. They 
were filled with the Spirit, and spoke with power. All 
this happened “ when they had prayed.” There is a 
vital connection between praying and being filled with 
the Spirit. No person in whose life prayer has died out 
will enjoy a very large measure of the Holy Spirit. 
There must be secret and constant communion with 
God. 

The reason for our spiritual barrenness is stated thus 
by the apostle' “ Ye have not, because ye ask not!' 
James 4:2. Our life is a fruitless one, — no spiritual 


Prayer 


105 


power manifested, no souls won for God ; our interest 
in God’s work is but feeble and waning. We mourn 
over our cold, backslidden condition, and attribute it 
to our surroundings; the manifestations of irritation, 
fretfulness, and impatience we attribute to nervous- 
ness. Manifestations of irritability and fullness of the 
Spirit do not go together. Our censure and criticism 
of the brethren we excuse by saying we are naturally 
of a critical turn of mind. But the apostle puts his 
finger on the real seat of the difficulty. “ Ye have not, 
because ye ask not.” The trouble is the neglect of 
prayer. This is the dead fly in the ointment. And we 
shall never enjoy a revival in our personal experience 
until there is a revival of prayer in the life. It has 
been truly said, “ Much prayer means much power ; 
little prayer means little power; no prayer means no 
power.” A man who said he let his hand slip out of 
God’s confessed that his “ soul-life raveled at the point 
where he ceased to pray.” 

What a striking example of prayer is seen in the 
Saviour’s life ! ‘‘ And in the morning, rising up a great 
while before day, he went out, and departed into a 
solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark i : 35. “ And 
it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a 
mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to 
God.” Luke 6: 12. Here is the example for secret 
prayer. “ All night in prayer to God ! ” What ear- 
nestness ! How does our life square with this? When 
the multitude pressed about him to be healed, in the 
midst of his work “ he withdrew himself into the 
wilderness, and prayed.” Luke 5 : 16. When Jesus 
was transfigured, he ‘‘ went up into a mountain to 


106 The Ministry of the Spirit 

pray.” Luke 9 : 28. There is a close connection be- 
tween transfiguration and prayer. Doubtless as we 
look back in our experiences, we all remember that the 
time when we obtained a real victory, when the heart 
was changed, was when we were engaged in earnest 
prayer for deliverance from the powers of darkness. 

But, says one, I have repeatedly prayed for the Holy 
Spirit, but my prayers have not been answered. I am 
as barren of the Spirit as ever. Just here is where 
many fail. Some do not know when their prayers are 
answered; they do not recognize the Spirit when he 
comes to them. The idea prevails with many that when 
their prayers are answered, and the Spirit comes upon 
them, some great feeling of ecstasy, some joyful, hal- 
lelujah spirit, will take possession of them, and they 
will be lifted above being tempted, and all trials will 
be banished forever. This is a great mistake. There 
may indeed be joy and happiness. But let us notice the 
first work of the Spirit in the heart. “ Nevertheless 
I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go 
away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not 
come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto 
you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world 
of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 
16:7, 8. 

The Spirit strives with sinners. Gen. 6:3; Acts 7 : 
51. When he comes to us, he reproves us for our sin. 
He convicts us of wrongdoing. He convinces us that 
we have things in our hearts that we should give up. 
His first work is to point out sin, and show where the 
temple is unclean and not a fit place into which to in- 
vite the Holy Spirit to take up his abode. 


107 


Prayer 

Have you prayed for the Holy Spirit? After pray- 
ing for God to send him into you heart, did you have a 
deeper sense of your sinful condition? did your sins 
begin to trouble you as never before? did a sense of 
your lost condition almost overwhelm you? Be of 
good courage; the Spirit of God has drawn near, and 
is seeking admission into your heart. As you continue 
to seek God for the fullness of his Spirit, your prayer- 
less life, your poor Sabbath keeping, your cold, formal 
profession, your envy, jealousy, and hatred of the 
brethren, your unkind words, your backbiting and 
scandalmongering, your cherishing of darling sins, your 
impurity of thought and unchaste language, your rob- 
bing God in tithes and offerings, your unkindness and 
fretfulness in the home, your harsh words to those you 
love, your sharp, critical disposition, your inclination to 
scheme and drive a sharp bargain, come up before you 
like a mountain. You seem to be the chief of sin- 
ners ” and almost beyond hope. This is God’s answer 
to your prayer. The Spirit has come to you. He is 
convincing you of sin, pointing out in your life the 
things that you must give up, or they will land you at 
last in the lake of fire. These things must be put away 
before the Spirit can abide in the temple of the soul. 

At a revival service a brother arose and said : “ I 
came to this meeting for a blessing, and I must have it ; 
but I did not think it would come in the way it is com- 
ing. I want the Spirit of God, and am determined to 
have it ; but I feel convicted before God of robbing him 
in withholding my tithe.” He then took from his 
pocket a sum of money and passed it on to the treasury 
of the Lord. Why did he feel under condemnation? 


108 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


— Because in answer to his prayers the Spirit was 
drawing near to him and convicting him of sin; and 
the only way he could get the peace of God in his 
heart, and cherish the Spirit’s presence, was to put 
away the sin which the Spirit was pointing out. The 
Holy Spirit knows where every tithe robber is, and 
many in the church will never receive a fullness of the 
Spirit of God until they repent of their covetousness in 
failing to return to God that which he says is holy and 
belongs to him. When we withhold the tithe, we rob 
God (Mai. 3:8), and no robber can be filled with the 
Spirit. 

At another meeting a woman was under great con- 
demnation because she had been riding on the railroad 
on another person’s pass. This is a species of dis- 
honesty, to which the Spirit can never set his seal. 
The fact that the conductor on a train overlooks you 
does not discharge you from all responsibility in this 
matter. It is here that the real test of your religion 
comes. We are not to serve God with “ eye service, 
as men pleasers,” or be honest because it is the “ best 
policy,” but because it is right. 

A merchant may give us too much change in some 
business deal. Shall we put it in our pocket, excusing 
ourselves by thinking it is not our business to make 
change? If he gave us too little change, we should 
consider it some of our business. A man to whom too 
much money had been paid in a business transaction, 
some time after gave his heart to God. He at once 
began to be troubled concerning this matter. As he 
prayed for the Holy Spirit, his prayers were heard 
and conviction for sin deepened. He felt that he ought 


Prayer 


109 


to make the wrong right. He found no peace until he 
confessed to the one he had wronged, and made resti- 
tution. The man to whom he sent the money wrote : — 

“ Your letter was forwarded to me here. I of course 
was very much surprised at the contents, for it was 
something of which I had not the least suspicion. I 
can understand that the temptation to keep the money 
unwittingly paid you was great, and can feel that the 
relief to the conscience of an honest man, as you are, 
must be great when he makes restitution. I thank you 
very much for the confession you have made me, as it 
gives me an insight to your noble nature, and more 
faith in my fellow men. I thank you, and wish you 
all good luck in the future, for an honest man is God’s 
noblest work, and deserves to prosper.” 

It is such religion as this that convinces the world 
of the truth and reality of Christianity. 

When the writer was converted, he began to seek 
God earnestly for a fullness of the Spirit. He was 
strongly convicted of his duty to make restoration to 
a neighbor for watermelons taken from his field ^t 
night. He knew no difference in principle between 
stealing a melon and stealing a horse, and he found no 
peace until he made confession to the one whose prop- 
erty he had purloined, and paid for that which he had 
wrongfully taken. Then peace and joy came into his 
heart, and the Spirit, instead of being a reprover for 
sin, convinced of righteousness. The conviction was 
an evidence of the Spirit’s presence. But we must be 
willing to be led by the Holy Spirit. When duty is 
plain, if we refuse to walk in the light, darkness comes 
into the soul. 


110 The Ministry of the Spirit 

If, after we have had the continual evidence of the 
Spirit’s presence with us in convicting us of sin, we 
still are destitute of his fullness and power, it can be 
only because we refuse to surrender our sins and allow 
the Holy Spirit to cleanse his temple. When we do 
this, we shall be “ filled with the Spirit,” and have that 
joy and peace which are the heritage of the Spirit. 

O that the Lord would lay on us the burden of ear- 
nest prayer! for it is through prayer we receive the 
Holy Spirit. It is not the arithmetic of our prayers, 
how many they be; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, 
how eloquent they be ; nor the geometry of our prayers, 
how long they be ; nor the music of our prayers, how 
sweet our voice may be ; nor the logic of our prayers, 
how argumentative they may be; nor the method of 
our prayers, how orderly they may be; nor even the 
dignity of our prayers, how good the doctrine may be, 
which God cares for. . . . Fervency of spirit is that 
which availeth much.” 


CHAPTER XVI 


UNITY 


FURTHER condition in receiving the Holy 



Spirit is unity. “ Endeavoring to keep the unity 
of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Eph. 4 : 3. The 
Lord will never baptize with his Spirit strife, hatred, 
variance, and discord among brethren. He will not 
bless at this time that against which his curse has al- 
ways been directed. These things eat like gangrene at 
the very vitals of true religion. What right has any 
man to ask Jesus to forgive him for his transgressions 
when his heart is burning with hatred and revenge, 
or festering with grudges against a fellow creature? 

Jesus said, ‘‘ When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye 
have aught against any: that your Father also which is 
in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye 
do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in 
heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:25, 26. 
Again he says : If thou bringest thy gift to the altar, 
and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught 
against thee ; leave there thy gift before the altar, and 
go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then 
come and offer thy gift.” Matt. 5 : 23, 24. Though 
we have, as it were, the lamb in our arms, and are 
standing before the altar to make our offering, if we 
know that alienation exists between us and some 
brother, before we make our offering we must first be 
reconciled with our brother. A heart of unity offered 


[III] 


112 The Ministry of the Spirit 

to God is the greatest gift we can make. Without this 
all other offerings are but empty form. 

Some mourn over their lack of power, and yet day 
by day are conscious that they are cherishing discord 
and hatred in their hearts against some one. In the 
church, prayer will sometimes ascend for a fullness of 
the Spirit, from those who backbite with their tongues. 
In the prayer meeting professed Christians who during 
the week have been meddling with strife, who have 
tattled and sowed discord from house to house, mourn 
their lack of spirituality, and ask the prayers of the 
church. God hates such hypocrisy and formalism as 
this, and will never grant a fullness of his Spirit until 
these things are confessed and put away. Confessions, 
too, will need to be made, in many cases, to those we 
have wounded and injured by our words, before our 
hearts will be right and we clear in the sight of God. 

The Lord says he will “ be as the dew unto Israel.” 
Hosea 14 : 5 . The dew does not fall in a storm, but in 
quietness and stillness. So discord, strife, and con- 
fusion among the members of the church will hinder 
the heavenly dew of the Spirit from falling in its gen- 
tleness Upon them. 

The time between the ascension of Jesus and Pen- 
tecost was devoted by the disciples to a preparation 
for the reception of the promised blessing. “ The dis- 
ciples prayed with intense earnestness for a fitness to 
meet men, and in their daily intercourse to speak 
words that would lead sinners to Christ. Putting away 
all differences, all desire for the supremacy, they came 
close together in Christian fellowship.”-— /I of the 
Apostles,” page j/. 


113 


Unity 

The apostles had had differences among them. The 
desire for the highest place had been strong. In that 
farewell meeting in the upper room, with the solemn 
emblems before them of the slain Lamb, “ there was 
also a strife among them, which of them should be 
accounted the greatest!' Luke 22 : 24. The desire to 
sit in the most honored seat in the kingdom which they 
expected was to be established, was the burden of each 
heart. They wanted a place on the committee,” as it 
were. Quite a scene this, to be enacted in the shadow 
of the cross, and the most awful tragedy the world has 
ever seen! Yet we have seen similar scenes in the 
shadow of the final consummation. 

So anxious were they in this matter that James and 
John had had their mother have an interview with 
Jesus over the matter. “ Then came to him the mother 
of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshiping him, 
and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto 
her. What wilt thou ? She saith unto him. Grant that 
these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, 
and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.” “ And 
when the ten heard it, they were moved with indigna- 
tion against the two brethren.” Matt. 20:20, 21, 24. 
“ Moved with indignation ” — the ten were angry with 
the two. Why ? — O, they feared the two brothers had 
gained, by their tact and diplomacy, an advantage in 
the receiving of the coveted position ! How could the 
Lord baptize such selfishness? He did not then, and 
he will not now. They had to put away their differ- 
ences and unsanctified ambition, and come to unity 
of heart and purpose. 

Before Pentecost they put away all differences, that 
the blessing might not be hindered. Confessions were 
8 


114 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

made. These were days of deep heart searching and 
contrition for sin. They felt their need, and earnestly 
sought God for this holy unction. 

It is the humble soul the Lord can exalt. Before we 
are ready for translation, we must be willing to walk 
in the valley of humiliation. Before Elijah was trans- 
lated, he was bidden to go and anoint Elisha prophet 
in his room, i Kings 19 : 16. He had been God’s 
spokesman, but now he must yield this honor and re- 
sponsibility to another. 

Have you ever filled a place of honor and responsi- 
bility in the church and cause of God, and then had 
suddenly to yield it to another? If so, think of Elijah. 
The Lord is allowing you to be tested, to see if you are 
ready to be translated at his coming. If under the 
test you sulk, become cross and critical, it is evident 
that you are not yet ready for a home with the re- 
deemed. Keep unity and love in your heart. 

The church today needs the anointing of the Holy 
Spirit for service. It is service for which the Lord be- 
stows his Spirit, and not that we may engage in spec- 
ulation and the piling up of the things of this world. 
Under the power of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, 
the power of covetousness was broken, and men re- 
linquished their grip on their earthly store. Instead of 
purchasing more of this earth, they sold their pos- 
sessions and gave to the work of God. When we come 
again to the unity of the Spirit, we shall see similar 
manifestations of the working of the Holy Spirit. 

“ How blest the sacred tie that binds 
In sweet communion kindred minds ! 

How swift the heavenly course they run, 

Whose hearts, whose faith, whose hopes are one ! ” 


CHAPTER XVn 

MOTIVES AND HUMILITY 

T N the receiving of the Holy Spirit another impor- 
tant condition is right motives. “ Ye ask, and re- 
ceive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume 
it upon your lusts.” James 4: 3. 

Many complain that their prayers are not answered. 
The apostle here tells us why many prayers are not an- 
swered in the way we expect. It is because the motive 
underlying the asking is wrong. The prayers are 
prompted by a selfish desire. The Spirit testifies of 
Christ. It exalts him, not self; and any asking for the 
purpose of exalting ourselves is a wrong motive. To 
the minister who desires the Holy Spirit that he may 
preach better and be more popular than some other 
brother, the Lord says. Ye receive not, because ye 
ask amiss.” To the teacher in any school, to the officer 
in any church or Sabbath school, who might desire and 
pray for the Holy Spirit that he might do better work 
than some other person and thus appear to better ad- 
vantage, the Lord says. Ye “ receive not, because ye 
" ask amiss.” If we desire the Spirit from any selfish 
motive whatsoever, in order that self can be more 
prominent, the Lord says. Ye “ receive not, because 
ye ask amiss.” 

In the case of Simon the sorcerer we have a striking 
example of one desiring the Spirit from a wrong, or 
selfish, motive. He had witnessed the working of the 

[115] 


116 TJw Ministry of the Spirit 

Spirit in the labors of the apostles, and said to Peter, 
“ Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay 
hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost/^ He was will- 
ing to pay for the Spirit, to give a considerable sum 
for it, no doubt. He could use it, he thought, to make 
money and be in the public eye. There are many like 
Simon today who would gladly buy the Spirit as mer- 
chandise, rather than control the fleshly desires and 
keep the temple of their bodies clean as his abiding 
place. 

Peter said to him : “ Thy money perish with thee, 
because thou hdst thought that the gift of God may 
be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor 
lot in this matter; for thy heart is not right in the 
sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wicked- 
ness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine 
heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou 
art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of in- 
iquity.” Acts 8: 19-23. 

The Spirit is a gift from God. It can never be 
bought nor bribed. It is a gift to us for service and 
personal victory, and is never given for display. 

Another condition worthy of notice is that of hu- 
mility. Humble yourselves therefore under the 
mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due 
time.” I Peter 5 : 6. The opposite of humility is 
pride. To be humble is to yield up our pride. Pride 
is a terrible sin; it changed Lucifer, the covering 
cherub, into Satan, the prince of devils. ‘‘ Pride goeth 
before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” 
Prov. 16: 18. 

The Spirit of God leads to humility. He shall not 


Motives and Humility 117 

speak of himself/' John 16:13. “He shall glorify 
me,” says Christ. Verse 14. The work of the Spirit 
is ever to exalt Christ. The one in whom the Spirit 
dwells will say, like John the Baptist, “ He must in- 
crease, but I must decrease.” John 3 : 30. Pride is 
an attribute of the carnal heart. Pride, like rank 
weeds, grows in a dunghill. The demon of pride was 
born with us, and it will not die one hour before we 
do. It is woven into our very nature, and until we 
are wrapped in our winding sheets it will come up 
asking recognition, and, like a tyrant, seeking to con- 
trol us. And really what are we that we should be 
proud? Alexander Maclaren well says: “ Granted that 
you are superior to me in something or other. Well, 
what does that matter ? One molehill is a little higher 
than another, but they are all about the same distance 
from the sun. I remember a friend of mine who, 
when a child, being told that the sun was ninety-five 
millions of miles off, asked whether it was from the 
upstairs window or the downstairs. And that is about 
the difference between men if they will bring them- 
selves into comparison with the only true Standard.” 
Humility cannot be affected ; the moment humility is 
spoken of by him that has it, that moment it is gone. 
It is like those delicate things which dissolve the in- 
stant they are touched. You must seek out the violet ; 
it does not, like the poppy, thrust itself upon your 
notice. The moment humility tells you, “ I am here,” 
there is an end to it. 

It is the “ I ” that is the barrier to spiritual progress. 
That is the trouble in the seventh chapter of Romans. 
The carnal “ I ” is living, never having been slain, and 


118 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


blocks the way to victory. The word I occurs at least 
thirty times in the last seventeen verses of Romans 7. 
It is found as many as six times in one short verse: 

“ For that which I do 1 allow not: for what / would, 
that do I not ; but what I hate, that do The apostle 
struggles for victory, but in vain ; he is carnal, sold 
under sin.” The things he loves and desires to do he 
cannot do, and that which he hates he is led to do. 
Though he delights in the law of God after the in- 
ward man, the law of his carnal nature holds him 
captive until in his despair he cries out, “ O wretched 
man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body 
of this death ? ” In the eighth chapter the I ” dis- 
appears, and the “ Spirit of life in Christ Jesus ” is 
found instead. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to^ 
destroy the ego and exalt the Saviour. 

Pride hinders the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 
It is the humble life which the Lord can bless and 
make fruitful; it is the humble heart that the Holy 
Spirit can fill. Christ “humbled himself, and became 
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 
Wherefore [for this reason] God also hath highly ex- 
alted him, and given him a name which is above every 
name.” Phil. 2:8, 9. God cannot give his Spirit to 
the proud and lofty and thus clothe them with dynamic 
power, for it would be their ruin. Power is a dan- 
gerous thing in the hands of a madman. But the 
humble, those who are willing to be led, he will fill 
with his Spirit and strengthen mightily for their war- 
fare against the kingdom of darkness, and make them 
more than conquerors through him that loved them 
and washed them in his own blood. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE TONGUE 


NOTHER important condition in the reception 



jljL of the Spirit of God is the proper use of the 
tongue. “ And the tongue is a fire, a world of in- 
iquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it 
defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course 
of nature; and it is set on fire of hell/' James 3:6. 
“ If any man among you seem to be religious, and 
bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, 
this man's religion is vain." Chap, i : 26. 

How often this “ fire of hell " has been kindled in 
churches and communities by the improper use of the 
tongue! Nothing will drive the Holy Spirit from the 
life more effectually than a wrong use of this unruly 
member. The power of speech is indeed a great gift 
from the Creator. But an unbridled, unconsecrated 
tongue may be a remorseless tool of Satan. The writer 
knows of no more infernal instrument of evil than 
the tongue of the gossiper, the tattler, the backbiter, 
and the slanderer. There are many tearful eyes, 
broken hearts, ruined homes, and blasted lives made 
such by the wrong use of the tongue. Churches have 
been ruined and neighborhoods disgraced by busy- 
bodies and scandalmongers. Somebody has raised the 
question why there is so much criticism in the world, 
especially among Christians. The following is to the 
point : — 

‘‘A dog, hitched to a lawn mower, stopped pulling 


[119] 


120 The Ministry of the Spirit 

to bark at a passer-by. The boy who was guiding the 
mower said: ‘Don’t mind the dog; he is just barking 
for an excuse to rest. It is easier to bark than to pull 
the machine.’ It is easier to be critical than correct ; 
easier to bark than to work ; easier to burn a house 
than to build one ; easier to hinder than to help ; easier 
to destroy reputation than to construct character. 
Faultfinding is as dangerous as it is easy. Anybody 
can grumble, criticize, or censure, like the Pharisees ; 
but it takes a great soul to go on working faithfully 
and lovingly, and rise superior to outward circum- 
stances and surroundings, as Jesus did.” 

Backbiters and tattlers are everywhere. They hear 
a rumor more or less unfavorable concerning some 
one, and they run and tell it. They drop these morsels 
of scandal around without going to the individual to 
find out if it is true. They have heard it; that is 
enough. Whether true or not does not matter ; it is 
something to tell. They will go (juicker and run far- 
ther to tell some scandal than to pray with burdened 
souls, or to tell something good. They prefer to de- 
stroy reputation rather than build it up. They peddle 
a little here and a little there. Others take up the re- 
proach, drop words and insinuations, and destroy with- 
out a qualm the reputation of some one, perchance at 
the same time professing to be his friend. As the 
gossip is peddled around, it grows. Tattlers and scan- 
dalmongers are invariably prevaricators and exagger- 
ators. Those who will peddle a lie in the neighborhood 
will not hesitate to tell one. Usually after repeating 
the scandal they add, “Now don’t say anything about 
it, I would not tell anybody except you.” Consider- 


The Tongue 


121 


able of this evil work is done by professed. Christians 
who claim to follow the Lord, and to be seeking a 
home where nothing unclean or wicked will ever come. 
But unless they repent, their hope is vain. 

A large amount of business can be done without 
capital in this line of business. No refinement of char- 
acter, no social polish, no modesty of speech, no edu- 
cation, no mental power, is necessary to constitute one 
a successful busybody and a recognized neighborhood 
gossip. All that is needed is a mean, unsanctified divS- 
position. The only thing that will in any way hinder 
a person’s being a decided success in this kind of work 
is pure and undefiled religion. This is a barrier. 

Paul mentions those in his day who “ learn to be 
idle, wandering about from house to house; and not 
only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking 
things which they ought not.” i Tim. 5 : 13. Not 
having any business of their own to occupy their at- 
tention, they were able to devote most of their time 
to attending to other people’s business, tattling from 
door to door, making merchandise of other people’s 
reputation. In this way family and neighborhood 
feuds have been started, reputations blasted, and homes 
wrecked. Church difficulties have been gendered, 
alienations and coldness brought in, and souls driven 
to perdition. In some instances the church of the 
most high God, which should stand as the very ex- 
ample of peace, has been transformed into what has 
oftentimes resembled the synagogue of Satan. 

Gossip peddlers are a serious menace to any com- 
munity. They are more dangerous than a plague. No 
contagious disease is to be feared and dreaded so 


122 The Ministry of the Spirit 

much. When they enter the door, a shadow dark and 
threatening enters. Beware ! You can scarcely speak 
with safety. With a smile they creep into the home, 
clothed in the garb of a friend, perchance that of a 
Christian, and begin the work of backbiting and dis- 
secting some neighbor, friend, or brother. They have 
heard something and have come to tell you. Be on 
your guard. The burglar comes for your purse ; that 
is trash : the gossiper comes to destroy reputation and 
honor. You can be sure of one thing: a person who 
will sit in your home and backbite and tattle concern- 
ing somebody else, will sit in somebody else’s home 
and backbite and tattle concerning you. 

But one asks. What am I to do when these scandal 
peddlers come and insist on gossiping and backbiting, 
and spreading rumors? A writer in a religious jour- 
nal offers the following : — 

“ Taking up a reproach against a neighbor is a dan- 
gerous business. Persons have been killed recently 
by handling old shells that had been dropped twenty- 
five years ago, during the war. If you should happen 
to plow up one, you would better bury it again. If 
persons bring to you reproaches against their neigh- 
bors, carry them no farther. If they lay them at your 
door, leave them there till they die. Positively refuse 
to have anything to do with them. You take them up 
at your peril. They are unclean things, which we are 
not permitted to touch. Scandalmongers should find 
no market for their wares at the house of a Christian. 
They may offer to give them to you, but you should 
spurn all such offers as you would an offer to give 
you the smallpox or the yellow fever.” 


123 


The Tongue 

How un-Christlike such a course is ! How the holy 
God must loathe such work ! From such the gentle, 
peaceful Spirit quietly withdraws, leaving the heart 
cold and hard. There is scarcely anything that will 
more effectually grieve the Spirit from the heart than 
this work. And it is so common. Professed Chris- 
tians engage in this unchristian work, and as a result 
their spiritual power is destroyed, and they backslide 
into darkness and unbelief. 

The apostle Paul exhorts : “ Let no corrupt commu- 
nications proceed out of your mouth, but that which 
is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister 
grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit 
of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemp- 
tion. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and 
clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, 
with all malice.” “ Neither filthiness, nor foolish talk- 
ing, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather 
giving of thanks.” Eph. 4:29-31; 5:4. All this un- 
holy brood can be summed up as a lack of love in the 
heart. 

For the words which are not convenient,” the Re- 
vised Version gives which are not befitting^ Then 
for Christians “ corrupt communications ” — impure 
words ; all evil speaking,” tattling, talebearing, gos- 
siping; all jesting and joking and light, chaffy talk and 
story-telling — are '‘not befitting T Only such speech 
as comes from a heart void of anger or wrath, where 
no clamor or railing is found, and such as will minister 
to, edify, and build up the intellectual and moral char- 
acter, is befitting. 

How many professed Christians are addicted to the 


124 The Ministry of the Spirit. 

habit of telling jokes and funny stories that neither 
minister grace nor edify ! This conversation is not 
pure; much of it borders on the vulgar and question- 
able, and can well be classed with the common talk of 
the man in the street. It is sometimes difficult at pub- 
lic gatherings to distinguish from the conversation who 
are professed Christians and who are not. Those who 
are real Christians are, of course, readily distin- 
guished, for their conversation ministers grace to the 
hearers. 

This unsanctified use of the tongue we are told 
grieves the Holy Spirit. The word translated 
“ grieve ” means literally to cause sorrow. Grief is 
sorrow. Here the gracious affection and tender love 
of the Spirit are revealed. He is represented as being 
in sorrow, sad and weeping, clothed in mourning, so to 
speak, by the empty, frivolous, impure, vulgar speech 
of his professed people. The experience of many can 
testify to the truthfulness of the Word of God in this 
matter. How unprepared we feel, after a social time 
spent together in spinning yarns and cracking the lat- 
est jokes, to go and labor for souls and minister to 
them the words of life. Suppose after having spent 
an evening together during which, instead of pure, edi- 
fying, intellectual conversation, much common street 
talk, slang remarks, funny stories, and witty, pert say- 
ings have been the order, we are asked to go and pray 
for some sick person. It may be the person has no 
hope in God, and this is our only chance to speak to 
him before he is ushered into the presence of the 
eternal Judge. How empty we feel! We realize that 
the Holy Spirit has been greatly displeased, and his 


The Tongue 


125 


presence has been quenched in the heart. How we 
wish we had been praying and meditating on the things 
that are lovely and of good report instead of upon the 
cheap and frivolous ! 

I 'feel confident that this sin, which is so well-nigh 
universal, is doing as much to grieve the Spirit of God 
from Hearts, and is responsible for as much barrenness 
of soul ^nd lack of warm, earnest, Christian experi- 
ence, as any other evil among God’s people. This 
wicked habit is wholly unnecessary, and ought to come 
to an end. 

James says, “If any man offend not in word, the 
same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole 
body.” Once we have the victory over the tongue, we 
shall have the key to complete victory. Are we to con- 
tinue longer to grieve from our hearts the Spirit of a 
holy God, and carry about with us a dry, powerless 
Christian experience, unable to battle against tempta- 
tion, or to lift up other souls bowed down with sin? 
Or shall we refuse longer to wound the heart of the 
Spirit by improper speaking, and claim the blessing 
which may be ours through faith? 


CHAPTER XIX 


READING 

TT should not be overlooked that in maintaining a 
close communion with the Holy Spirit proper read- 
ing is an essential condition. Reading has a close con- 
nection with conversation. The great apostle believed 
in leading a studious life, and in reading good books. 

‘‘ The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when 
thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but espe- 
cially the parchments.” 2 Tim. 4:13. Thus wrote 
the great apostle from a Roman dungeon. He felt 
his need of books. The Christian religion is a book 
religion, it is founded on the Book of books — the 
Bible. Even an apostle must read. He was an in- 
spired instrument of the Lord, and had been preaching 
for many years, but he still wanted books. He was 
“ Paul the aged,” and the years of his usefulness 
seemed about ended. He was then a prisoner, sen- 
tenced to death, but he still wanted hooks. He had 
been educated at the feet of Gamaliel, but he did not 
stop reading and studying. He felt that hooks were 
still one of his needs. He had seen the Lord when on 
the way to Damascus, had been caught up to the third 
heaven and heard things that it was impossible for him 
to utter, and had had a very wide experience, yet all 
this did not take the place of books. To grow intellec- 
tually he must read, and thus fill his mind with useful 
[126] 


Reading 127 

information. Though an inspired writer himself, he 
was not beyond reading the writings of other men. 
Books and parchments seemed to weigh more in his 
mind than food for the outward man. Daniel, too, a 
mighty seer of God, studied the writings of Jeremiah 
for light and instruction. 

Surely the example of Paul, this mighty hero of the 
cross, studying and seeking for light and knowledge, 
when almost in the presence of the executioner, is an 
inspiring example to God’s servants today to be dili- 
gent students and readers of good literature. Intel- 
lectual laziness is as great a sin as any other kind of 
laziness. 

Paul wrote to Timothy, “ Give attendance to read- 
ing.” Spurgeon once said, “ The man who never reads 
will never be read ; he who never quotes will never be 
quoted; he who will not use the thoughts of other 
men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. 
Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all peo- 
ple : you must needs read” 

While it is true that there is much literature in the 
world that should not be read, there are many excel- 
lent books that will impart light and information, and 
we should be constantly searching for the good, that 
we may constantly improve the mind. 

But while we should give attendance to reading,” 
we should also take heed to what we read. The Bible 
should stand first in our course of reading. Nothing 
will strengthen and expand the mind like a prayerful 
study of God’s Word. We should read it daily, and 
thus gather manna to nourish our souls. We should 
not fail to read denominational literature which ex- 


128 The Ministry of the Spirit 

plains the prophecies and points out the way to holier 
living and deeper consecration. Besides this, there is 
a great field of other good books written by men of 
God, where we can glean many excellent and helpful 
thoughts. Then the whole field of literature, science, 
history, biography, and travel is before us, from which 
many excellent books on a thousand subjects can be 
selected and read with profit. We do not need to drink 
from the muddy fountain of pagan authors, or to study 
the writings of critics who insidiously undermine faith 
in the Scriptures. There is a far greater library of 
good, helpful books than we shall be able to read in a 
lifetime. But books are companions, and should be as 
carefully selected as bosom friends are chosen. When 
we do this, the Holy Spirit, the Great Teacher, will 
draw near and help us in our study. 

But the world is being filled with a class of literature 
which should not be read. The devil is using the 
printing press in his work. We feel confident that in 
the trashy, impure, vicious reading matter which we 
find everywhere we are confronted with one of the 
greatest evils in the world. It is found in nearly every 
home, in books, magazines, and papers. Frequently on 
the tables of Christians we find light, trashy literature, 
the reading of which tends to wean the heart from 
prayer and the study of the Word, and to grieve the 
Holy Spirit. 

Cheap fiction and novels constitute the class of read- 
ing for the most of the world. Go to any library and 
ask the librarian which class of literature is read most, 
and he will tell you it is novels and cheap fiction. Even 
some professed Christians are addicted to this vice. 


Reading 


129 


Novel reading is an evil habit which brings the 
frown of God. Novels are lies. They describe scenes 
which never happened. They give false ideas of true 
heroism, love, matrimony, sociability, and success in 
life. They pervert the sympathies, harden the heart, 
and blunt the finer sensibilities. The Lord, in describ- 
ing those who fail to enter the city of God, says : “For 
without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, 
and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth 
and maketh a lie” Rev. 22: 15. Then those who love 
lies, and those who make them, will be destroyed. Do 
you love to read cheap fiction and novels? Beware! 
Novels are lies, and the Lord says that those who love 
lies and those who make them, will, unless they re- 
pent, be among the lost in the lake of fire. 

Many Christian persons, especially among the young, 
are grieving the gentle Spirit of God from their hearts 
and ruining their Christian experience by improper 
reading. This is why many backslide. The perusal 
of novels and trashy literature excites and perverts the 
imagination, weakens and intoxicates the mind, and 
vitiates and destroys the taste for the Bible and all sub- 
stantial reading. Such reading enslaves and destroys 
the moral sensibilities, and impairs and utterly ruins 
the intellect. He who has formed this habit must find 
deliverance from it through the Lord if he is ever to 
enjoy a fullness of the Spirit, and enter the home of the 
redeemed. A young lady. who had read exciting novels 
for years thus describes her enslaved condition : — 

“ I had been reading a novel after retiring the other 
night. As I fell asleep, I had a dreadful dream. I 
thought I had passed from time to eternity, and was 


9 


130 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

striving to enter heaven ; but something held me back. 
As I turned to discover what it was, I saw a chain of 
the many novels that I had read. The one that I 
had placed under my pillow before I fell asleep, that 
my parents might not see it, was firmly attached to 
me, and the other end of the chain was held by demons. 
As I strove to get free and enter heaven, they, with the 
chain of novels, drew me back. As I seemed sinking 
to hell, in great fear and excitement I awoke. I 
thanked God that I was yet alive, and resolved never 
to read another novel ; but in less than forty-eight 
hours I was again reading the unfinished novel. I 
want to be free, and yet I am enslaved. What shall 
Ido?” 

The appetite for cheap, trashy literature, like that 
for intoxicating drink, can be conquered only by the 
power of God. The influence of reading is very great. 
A noted skeptic gave as a reason for his hatred of the 
Bible the reading of an infidel tract when a boy. Some 
years ago two young men on the scaffold to be exe- 
cuted for murder, exhorted the youth to let cheap nov- 
els alone, for such reading had been responsible for 
their downfall. 

Surely those who love God will guard against form- 
ing the habit of reading that which will weaken them 
spiritually. If you have formed the evil habit, break 
it. It is useless to expect a fullness of the Holy Spirit 
when daily feeding the mind on trash. But just here 
many are making a failure. Because of indulgence in 
improper reading many have a stunted spiritual expe- 
rience, and backslide from God. They have literally 
read the Holy Spirit out of their lives. If we wish to 


Reading 


131 


be spiritual, we must cultivate spirituality. The tree 
frog of Ceylon is said to take the color of that to 
which it clings. So we are influenced by what we read 
and hear. By proper companionship we can create a 
spiritual atmosphere around us, and invite the Holy 
Spirit to abide in our hearts. Let us gather as com- 
panions about us only those books that are wholesome, 
and will lead the mind into channels of pure thinking, 
and cause us to meditate on God and spiritual things, 
for it is in this way that we “ grow in grace, and in the 
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ/’ 


CHAPTER XX 


HATING SIN 


FURTHER step in Spirit filling is to hate sin. 



“ Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniq- 
uity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee 
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Heb. i : 9. 

Christ’s love for righteousness and his hatred of 
I sin are here set forth as a reason why he was anointed 
with the Holy Spirit and with power. “ The prince 
of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me,” said 
Christ. There was nothing in the suggestions and 
temptations of Satan that appealed to Jesus. Within 
him were no hooks on which doubts could be hung. 
There was nothing in him which clung to sin. Sin 
was loathsome and repulsive to him, and his whole 
soul longed for that which was holy and righteous. 
It is not enough merely to abstain from wrong acts. 
We must reach a deeper Christian experience than 
this. We must come to the place where we shall hate 
the sin. We are to “ abhor that which is evil ; cleave 
to that which is good.” Rom. 12:9. The things that 
are questionable, over which the conscience has been 
perhaps long troubled, must be surrendered ; even 
more, we must reach the point where we shall refrain 
from the sin, and not hanker after it, wishing it were 
not wrong, but shall hate the wicked, unclean thing. 

‘‘ There must be a relinquishment, honest, and en- 
tire in its character, of all that the Word of God in 


[132] 


Hating Sin 


133 


conjunction with conscience condemns. Any contro- 
versy in this matter means unanswered prayer. A 
great difficulty with many is that they want power 
without purity, and happiness without holiness. When 
God puts his finger upon unclean and unlawful things, 
they shrink from the cost of renouncing them, and 
thus make it impossible for their prayer to be an- 
swered. There are in most lives mountains to be 
leveled, valleys to be exalted, crooked things to be 
made straight, and rough places to be made plain be- 
fore the glory of the Lord can be revealed; and it is 
just here that so many fail. This renunciation of 
what is revealed as iniquity, often means a very se- 
rious matter, involving changes in many realms of 
life; possibly touching the sphere of the affections or 
the possessions, the inner habits of life or the outward 
details of conduct. But it is a much more serious thing 
to continue a controversy with God, and thus to pre- 
vent the Holy Spirit from possessing his own temple. 
It is an actual impossibility to receive the Holy Spirit 
while grasping anything that God has banned and con- 
science has already judged. The hand of faith must 
be empty in order to receive the gift.” 

“ There can be no bestowal of the Holy Spirit where 
there is an unwillingness to obey God in any matter 
about which he has already made his will known. 
There are in many lives questions of long standing 
about which conscience has often been troubled, but 
with regard to which the heart has been disobedient 
to the heavenly vision. These are the hindrances 
which make all prayer for the Spirit’s power nonef- 
fective ; and until they are willingly dealt with, and 


134 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

the long-deferred obedience yielded, his fullness will 
never be received. It often happens that when souls 
are eagerly seeking this blessing from pure motives, 
there are revealed to them hitherto hidden acts and 
attitudes of disobedience, sometimes trifling in them- 
selves, and about these points the whole controversy 
rages.” — The Price of Pozverf’ pages 70, /j. 

In his Sermon on the Mount the Saviour said, ‘‘If 
thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from 
thee,” and “ if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, 
and cast it from thee.” Matt. 5 : 29, 30. This is 
hardly to be understood as teaching that eyes are to 
be literally plucked out or hands amputated. But it 
does teach, as the context shows, that anything in the 
life which may be as dear to us as the eye or the hand, 
if it might cause our being “ cast into hell,” is to be 
cast from us. “ And others save with fear, pulling 
them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted 
by the fieshT Jude 23. 

We are further admonished to “ abstain from all 
appearance of evil” (i Thess. 5:22), to ‘"abhor that 
which is evil.” Rom. 12 : 9. This goes, if possible, 
still deeper. Even though a thing may not be wrong 
in itself, if it does not look right, if it is open to sus- 
picion, if it may be misunderstood, and thus set an 
example that might be a stumblingstone to the weak, 
or furnish an opportunity for sinners to blaspheme, 
we are to abstain from even this. 

We should not engage in any business in which v^^e 
cannot feel free to ask Jesus to be a partner ; we should 
not go to any place where we cannot ask the Holy 
Spirit to accompany us and abide with us. 


Hating Sin 


135 


Young people, and older ones, too, for that matter, 
sometimes debate in their minds concerning certain 
places of amusement and certain forms of entertain- 
ment. Is it right? What harm is there in it? Before 
perplexing the mind with these and similar questions, 
we should first ask. How will it look for a Christian? 
If it does not look right, that should settle the matter 
without further parley. The dovelike Spirit is often 
grieved by appearances, as well as by open sin. 


CHAPTER XXI 


OBEDIENCE 


NOTHER important step in the receiving of the 



Holy Spirit is that of obedience. “ And we are 
his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy 
Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” 
Acts 5:32. 

Obedience means unconditional surrender. This is 
the one supreme condition of being filled with the 
Spirit of God. Full surrender is the pivot upon which 
the gate of his fullness swings open. 

It is not a question in the life of a Christian as to 
whether the Spirit has entered the heart. He knocks 
for admission at the door of every heart; and he has 
entered in some measure the heart of every Christian. 
But the question is, Has he had full possession, or has 
he been only a joint tenant? Has he had all the heart, 
or only a corner in the affections ? “ Yield yourselves 
unto God,’’ is the exhortation of Paul. This does not 
mean in part, but wholly. The question is. Have we 
done this? 

'' It is as if the sweet, fresh air of springtime should 
enter a ten-room house full of foul odors. You open 
up one chamber to it, but leave the rest closed and 
in possession of the old, fetid atmosphere. Truly the 
pure air has entered, but how can it fill the house until 
you yield that house wholly to it, throwing open every 
nook and cranny to its fragrant breath ? ” 


[136] 


Obedience 


137 


This places the question of surrender squarely be- 
fore us. The Spirit has entered the temple of our 
bodies. But how much room has he been permitted to 
occupy? Has he been obeyed, and fully yielded to? 
Have we turned over to him the key of every room? 
or have we retained the key to one room? Is there a 
closet somewhere in the heart in which some grinning 
skeleton is hidden, to which we hold the key? Have 
we turned over to the Spirit every key, and bidden 
him open every room, every closet, and take full pos- 
session of the soul? This is the pivotal point upon 
which is determined whether or not we shall share the 
fullness of' the Spirit. The fullness of surrender pre- 
cedes the fullness of power. Whether it takes a day 
or long years to reach this, the consecrated child of 
God knows that it is the supreme step in securing the 
power of the Spirit. 

There is no substitute for your act of surrender. 
When God states a condition of blessing, no other con- 
dition, however good elsewhere, can be substituted. 
This is why all your crying, and waiting, and petition- 
ing — yea, even agonizing before God — have accom- 
plished naught but to leave you grieved, disappointed, 
and dazed at lack of answer. You have been praying 
instead of obeying. Prayer is all right with obedience, 
but not instead of it. ‘ To obey is better than sacri- 
fice.' So it is better than prayer if it is the thing God 
is asking. We are not petitioning God; he is petition- 
ing us. Hear him through his servant Paul : ‘ I be- 
seech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, 
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice.' Have 
you done this? When we petition God to do some- 


138 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


thing for us, we expect him to act. When God peti- 
tions us to make him a present of our bodies as a living 
sacrifice, he expects us to act. But, lo, we turn to 
and begin to pray, for, we say, is not prayer a good 
thing? Forsooth, it is, but not well spent if used to 
dodge obedience! How subtle the flesh is! How in 
our blindness we do play at cross-purposes with God! 
‘ Abraham,’ said God, ‘ because thou hast done this 
thing, ... I will bless thee.’ Gen. 22: 16, 17. What 
was this thing upon the doing of which the blessing of 
God came to him as never before ? — It was the yield- 
ing of his all to God in the surrender of his son. Child 
of God, have you done this thing? No other thing will 
avail. Constant prayer, importunate entreaty, weari- 
some waiting, attempts at believing, reckoning it done, 
— all these are of no avail if you will not do this 
thing. This unyielding life is the very citadel of self. 
God will not force it. But when its key, the will, is 
voluntarily handed over to him, then he floods the life 
with his fullness of blessing. Would you know his ‘ I 
will bless thee ’ ? Then do this thing. Absolutely, un- 
reservedly, confidingly, yield yourself, your life, your 
all, into his hands for time and eternity. 

It will not do, in lieu of this, to give money, to 
give time, to give service, only. Thousands are try- 
ing thus to silence conscience and rob God. We must 
needs give ourselves. How grieved would that true 
lover be whose betrothed would answer his petition for 
her heart, herself, by proffering her purse, houses, or 
lands ! How much more must God be grieved by our 
poor attempts to bribe him by giving him everything 
else except the one thing he wants — ourselves! ‘ My 


Obedience 


139 


son, give me thine heart.* There is a giving which is 
instead of ourselves ; and there is a gift of ourselves.’^ 
— Threefold Secret of the Holy Spirit/* pages 51-53- 

This is true repentance, and entire change of all the 
desires and affections of the flesh. And to those who 
repent, the promise of the Spirit is sure : ‘‘ Repent, 
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus 
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive 
the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2 : 38. 

A writer relates how a trolley car in a rural district 
suddenly stopped, and the conductor, being new at the 
work, walked to the nearest house supplied with a 
telephone and called to headquarters, “ The power has 
gone off. What shall I do ? ” At once the office tele- 
phoned back, “ The power is all right. Put on your 
trolley and come home.” The power was present, but 
in some way the car had lost the connection with it. 

This explains the standstill efforts in the experience 
of many churches and individuals. At times there 
seems to be motion, but somewhat like that of a rock- 
ing-horse or a cane mill; there is no real progress. 
The power is a living reality ever with them, but they 
have either never had a connection with it or have 
lost it. The organization and machinery may be all 
right, but if we do not have a vital connection with the 
Source of power, it will do us no good. “ The body 
without the spirit is dead.** 

The story is told of a man whose Artesian well 
ceased to flow as it had formerly done. The connec- 
tion with the^ hidden reservoir seemed to be in a meas- 
ure cut off. An examination, however, revealed an 
old carpet stuffed into it. When this was removed, it 


140 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

flowed as before. There are many Christians whose 
experiences are similar to this well. They run well 
for a time, but the fountain suddenly seems to be 
stopped. Doubtless all that is needed is to have some 
of the old rubbish of sin removed from the heart, and 
the stream of blessings will flow as before. 

Our danger lies in grieving the Spirit by cherishing 
in the heart what seems to us some little sin. But sin 
cannot be hidden. Though we may be sorely tried by 
the enemy, and continually tempted, and find when we 
have made a full surrender that new things are re- 
vealed in the life over which we must get the victory, 
we should not be discouraged. Christians still meet 
with sore temptations. In an experience meeting in the 
mountains of Pennsylvania there was a man who had 
become discouraged because, although for three years 
he had been following the Lord, he still had severe 
struggles with the devil. A man of seventy years arose 
and said, “ It took me twenty years to get the hill back 
of my barn reasonably free from rattlesnakes, and 
though I have farmed the place nearly fifty years, I 
still occasionally meet one there. Brother, the devil 
is harder to deal with than rattlesnakes.” 

“ Be sure your sin will find you out.” Num. 32 : 23. 
Sin cannot be hidden. We may cover it for a time; 
but sometime, perchance when we least expect, it will 
rise up to taunt us. We may entomb it in the heart, 
where no mortal eye can see it; but the eye of the 
omniscient God beholds it, and at the judgment, if 
not sooner, it will be there to condemn us. 

To us the sin may seem small, hardly worth men- 
tioning ; but the important question is not how it looks 


Obedience 


141 


to us, but how God regards it. There is grave danger 
in the little sins which lurk around, seeking a place in 
the heart. It is the ‘‘ little foxes that spoil the vines.” 
Be the worm ever so small that gnaws at the roots of a 
plant, the effect will be seen in the barrenness of the 
harvest. It is even so in Christian experienoe. 

A little sin may unconsciously change the whole 
course of life, and land us at last on some hidden rock 
or shoal. Many wrecks lie bleaching on the barren 
sands of time from this cause. We see men forsake 
the gospel, give up God’s truth, and seek to tear down 
the faith they once labored to build up. We wonder 
why men with such keen minds do these things. Some 
hidden thing in the heart, some sin unsurrendered to 
God, tells the story. It blinded their eyes, deflected 
their spiritual compass, and wrecked them spiritually. 

‘‘ There was once a magnificent oak tree, tall, and 
beautiful, and strong. The winds tried to blow it 
down, but the more they strained its tough fibers, the 
stouter they grew to hold up the great tree. The sun 
beat fiercely down upon it, and did its best to burn it 
up ; but though its leaves withered every autumn, they 
came out fresh and green every spring. The frost 
tried to enter the crevices and split the tree from top to 
bottom, but all it could do was to make its bark rough 
and rugged. Snows tried to bury it, rain tried to 

drown it, the ground dried up and tried to starve its 

roots, other trees tried to crowd it out, but still the 
grand old oak stood there, winter and summer, and 

defied all its enemies. But at last, one unlucky day, 

a little worm crept into the heart of the tree. It laid 
its eggs there, and died. Soon there were a dozen 


142 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


worms, and more. They ate a little way into the 
tree, laid their eggs, and died. So it went on until the 
heart of the tree was eaten up, and it was hardly 
anything but a hollow trunk. Then the branches fell 
olf one by one. Then the roots dried up. Then the 
‘few leaves withered, and none came to take their 
places. Then the frost got in, and the ice split the 
great trunk open. And at last the wind blew the tall 
tree over, and it rotted to pieces among its own dead 
leaves. So the greatest enemy of the oak tree was not 
the wind, nor the rain, nor the frost, nor the sun, nor 
the soil, but the little worm that it took into its heart, 
and made a part of itself.” 

So in the life the little worm of sin unsurrendered, 
cherished contrary to God’s will, does its terrible work. 
The shore ,of time is strewn with many sad wrecks as 
an awful warning. 

A ship was once wrecked on the Irish coast. The 
weather had not been so ^severe as to account for the 
divergence of the ship from its course. The master 
was competent. No proper explanation could be given 
of the disaster. A diver was sent down to bring up 
the compass, to see if any reason could be found in it, 
and on examination a bit of steel was detected, which 
looked like the point of a pocketknife blade. It was 
learned that the day before the wreck, a sailor had 
been set to clean the compass, and had used his pocket- 
knife in doing so. Unknowingly, he had broken off 
the point, and left it in the box. That bit of steel had 
deflected the needle, and so made the compass unre- 
liable. That little bit of steel wrecked the vesselT 

This incident contains a lesson for us. Our prayer 


Obedience 


143 


should ever be : “ Search me, O God, and know my 
heart : try me, and know my thoughts : and see if there 
be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way 
everlasting.” Ps. 139:23, 24. 

When all is laid on the altar, we shall assuredly not 
have to wait long for the fire to descend and con- 
sume the sacrifice. When we surrender all to God, 
and become willing to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit 
by yielding every sin, performing every duty, and mak- 
ing any sacrifice, though it be at the expense of our 
most cherished plans, God will fill us with the power 
of his Spirit for service. John Wesley once said if he 
could find one hundred men who feared nothing but 
sin, he would move the world. 

“ Breathe on me, Breath of God, 

Until my heart is pure, 

Until with thee I will one will, 

To do and to endure.” 


CHAPTER XXII 


FAITH 

O NE further important point to be considered in 
our study of the reception of the Spirit is that 
of faith. It is by faith that the connection is made 
between the soul and the promises of God. Without 
faith it is impossible to please God. All that God has 
promised is received by faith. Like all other of the 
promises of God, we receive the Spirit by faith. 
Many are making the mistake of trusting to their feel- 
ings, but feeling is not a safe guide. 

“ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the 
law, being made a curse for us : for it is written. 
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree : that the 
blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles 
through Jesus Christ ; that we might receive the prom- 
ise of the Spirit through faith.'' Gal. 3: 13, 14. 

We are redeemed that we might receive the blessing 
of Abraham, that we might receive the promised Spirit. 
The blessing of Abraham is righteousness by faith. 
Rom. 4: 1-3. We receive righteousness, not by works 
nor by feeling, but by faith, as the unmerited gift of 
God. But many stop here. The text, however, en- 
courages us to go a step farther. Having received 
from God the forgiveness of all our sins and the im- 
puted righteousness of Christ, we are then in a con- 
dition to reach out the hand of faith still farther and 
“ receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” 
[144] 


Faith 


145 


“ But as many as received him [by faith], to them gave 
he power to become the sons of God.” John i : 12. 
“ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost 
is come upon you.” Acts 1:8. “ But tarry ye in the 
city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from 
on high.” Luke 24 : 49. Power is bestowed through 
the Spirit, and receiving the Spirit is receiving power. 
The Spirit is received by faith. We therefore receive 
power through believing. Having received righteous- 
ness from God by faith, by the same faith we are to 
lay hold of the Holy Spirit for power in our personal 
experience, and to enable us to labor for the salvation 
of others. Having complied with the condition laid 
down in the Word, and earnestly prayed for the Spirit 
of God, we should believe and accept the promised 
blessing with thanksgiving. This is the only way we 
ever can receive the fullness of the Spirit. Unbelief 
hinders our receiving the Spirit. 

When Jesus met with his disciples after his resur- 
rection, he “ breathed on them, and saith unto them, 
Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” John 20: 22. The word 
here translated “ receive ” is the same word that is 
translated “take,” where Pilate said, “ ye him, 
and judge him,” and, “ Take ye him, and crucify him.” 
John 18:31; 19:6. Jesus therefore said to his disci- 
ples, “ Take ye the Holy Ghost.” We take, or receive, 
the Spirit by faith. By faith the disciples were to 
receive, or take, the Spirit to guide them in their work. 
How simple this is ! Just as we take a drink of water 
when thirsty; just as we accept the forgiveness of 
our sins by faith when we have confessed them; just 
as we take a proffered gift from a friend, so we are 


10 


146 The Ministry of the Spirit 

to receive by faith the fullness of the blessing of the 
Spirit of God when we have, so far as we know, put 
away our sins, and opened the channel of blessing into 
our hearts. This is beautifully illustrated by the story 
of a ship called the “ Central America.” The drink- 
ing water had failed, and the crew were in great need 
of water. They ran up a flag of distress. The flag 
was seen by the captain of another ship, and through 
the speaking tube came the question, “ What is the 
matter? ” “ Water! water! we are dying for want of 
water ! ” replied the thirsty crew. The answer came 
back, “ Dip it up ; you are in the mouth of the Ama- 
zon.” The mighty Amazon was pouring a flood of 
fresh water far out to sea. They heeded the command, 
and from the bosom of the ocean dipped the pure, 
fresh water to quench their thirst. There was no need 
to ask further for drinking water. 

“ Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give 
him,” said Jesus, “shall never thirst; but the water 
that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water 
springing Up into everlasting life.” John 4: 14. From 
this eternal, living spring, this river, this Amazon, 
which is constantly flowing, as from the smitten rock, 
we have but to “ dip ” and drink. Have you put away 
every known sin? Have you prayed for the Spirit? 
Then “ take,” “ dip,” “ drink.” 

And what a rich blessing! When we by faith re- 
ceive the Spirit into the heart, we are told it brings all 
other blessings in its train. “ In whom we have re- 
demption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of his graced Eph. i : 7. The 
riches of grace is all that we get from the cross upon 


Faith 


147 


which our Redeemer died the riches of glory is all 
that we get from the throne of the eternal Godhead. 
We get pardon from the cross; we get strength and 
power from the throne. Wonderful riches, indeed! 

More than this, we are instructed that those who 
consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will receive the 
“ breath of his own Spirit,” and through cooperation 
with Christ be able “ to do the deeds of Omnipotence.” 

“ Christ’s ascension to the Father, as we know, was 
the condition of the descent of the Spirit ; and concern- 
ing this the Lord said, ‘ He that believeth on me, the 
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works 
than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father* 
Thus the ministry of the Spirit was announced to be 
mightier in results than that of the Son. This would 
not seem, easy to credit. If we were ignorant of the 
facts of science, and some one were to show us a res- 
ervoir of water, and tell us that this element is capable 
of three manifestations, liquid, vapor, and solid, and 
ask us which would be the most powerful, we might 
say the solid form; and looking at the iceberg, which 
can crush a huge ship as you grind a dry leaf between 
your fingers, this conclusion would seem to be justi- 
fied. But science would point at once to the vapor, so 
light, so impalpable and in its finer forms so invisible, 
and remind us that this is the power that is moving our 
huge steamships, drawing our countless railway trains, 
and driving our ponderous factories — the greatest mo- 
tive force in our modern civilization. The blessed 
Trinity has been manifested to us in two forms in this 
dispensation. First, he came as the Word made flesh, 
the incarnate Lord, with the might of his divine man- 


148 The Ministry of the Spirit 

hood, which could silence the winds, still the waves, 
open the gates of the grave, and reverse the laws of 
gravitation. Is not this the most powerful revelation 
of God ? ‘ Greater works than these shall ye do,' is 
his answer. When . God comes as the secret invisible 
Spirit, like the wind, which we cannot see and cannot 
tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth ; and when 
this Spirit shall dwell in his fullness in believers, 
moving their wills, inspiring their words, and ener- 
gizing their actions, then shall be seen the greatest 
things for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, 
that have yet been witnessed .” — The Twofold Life” 
pages 187, 188. 

It is for us to receive this blessed Spirit by faith, 
and experience daily the spiritual power that the Lord 
has promised. We need to appropriate by faith the 
blessings the Lord has promised to us and placed 
within our reach. 


CHAPTER XXIII 

THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD 

T he apostle Paul tells us that “ all scripture is 
given by inspiration of God ” (2 Tim. 3:16); 
that is, all scripture is God-breathed, inspired. “ For 
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man : 
but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the 
Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:21. It was the ‘‘Spirit of 
Christ ” which was in the prophets when they “ testi- 
fied beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory 
that should follow.” i Peter i : ii. “ Well spake the 
Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers.” 
Acts 28:25. “Men and brethren, this scripture must 
needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by 
the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, 
which was guide to them that took Jesus.” Acts 1:16. 
Many other texts of similar import might be given, all 
clearly showing that while the Bible was written by a 
number of men, there was but one Spirit breathing 
upon and inspiring them all. The Bible, therefore, be- 
ing the product of the Spirit of God, between the 
Spirit and the Word there must be and is the utmost 
harmony. 

“To unconverted persons, a great part of the Bible 
resembles a letter written in cipher. The blessed 
Spirit’s office is to act as God’s decipherer, by letting 
his people into the secret of celestial experience, as the 

[149] 


150 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


key and clew to those sweet mysteries of grace which 
were before as a garden shut up, or as a fountain 
sealed, or as a book written in an unknown character/’ 

In the Christian warfare we are exhorted to go into 
the battle armed with “ the sword of the Spirit, which 
is the word of God.” Eph. 6:17. The Holy Spirit 
wages a warfare against sin, and uses the Word as 
its weapon. It never leads us from but to the Word. 
When Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost to 
preach, he did not set off some oratorical pyrotechnics, 
nor give an essay on ethics or on some social problem ; 
but the Spirit led him into the Word. He expounded 
the Scriptures. There was no long introduction, and 
not much peroration. He began by saying, ‘‘ This is 
that which was spoken by the prophet Joel ; ” then he 
cited another prophecy in the Psalms, and showed how 
these two prophecies had been fulfilled. The Spirit 
accompanied the presentation of this word with great 
power, and those who heard were “ pricked in their 
heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apos- 
tles, Men and brethren, what shall we do ? ” Peter was 
the spokesman, but the Spirit was present and con- 
victed the people. Without the Spirit the sermon 
would have convicted no one. 

Mr. Moody says : There was a time when I 
thought the raising of Lazarus was the greatest work 
ever done on this earth, but I think the conversion of 
those three thousand Jews on the day of Pentecost 
was more wonderful still. Those hard-hearted Jews 
were full of hatred and unbelief ; many, no doubt, were 
the same men who murdered Christ. And yet they 
were swept down by the mighty power of the Spirit. 


151 


The Spirit and the Word 

We have the same obstacles to contend with as the 
apostles had. Our gospel that we are preaching is a 
supernatural gospel, and we have got to have super- 
natural power to preach it.” 

This example stands as a clear illustration of the 
relationship between the Spirit and the word. And 
the same power should be witnessed today in the pres- 
entation of the word. The preaching of the word 
should have effect. When the prophecies, which came 
by direct inspiration of the Spirit, are explained, and 
their fulfillment shown, why should not the same power 
be seen at this time, and a deep conviction of their 
truthfulness settle upon those who listen? The apos- 
tles established churches among the heathen by preach- 
ing the word. The Spirit accompanied the word 
spoken, and turned many from darkness to light. 

The Saviour, when speaking to his disciples in the 
upper room concerning the work of the Holy Spirit, 
said : But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, 
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach 
you all things, and bring all things to your remem- 
brance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14: 
26. When Satan came to Christ in the wilderness with 
his temptations, Jesus met him with a “ Thus saith 
the Lord.” He remembered the words of Holy Writ, 
and with this “ sword of the Spirit ” vanquished the 
enemy. His defense was, “ It is written.” It is thus 
that “ when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the 
Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” 
Isa. 59 : 19. The Spirit meets temptation by using the 
“ sword of the Spirit.” When we are tempted by the 
enemy, the Spirit brings some precious promise to our 


152 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


minds. But here is where many are weak. They neg- 
lect to study the Bible, and as a result do not have 
the mind filled with the things that Jesus, through the 
Spirit, has said to them. Then in the hour of trial the 
Spirit cannot bring to their remembrance the words' 
of God, and they are overcome. While the Spirit may 
teach us things we never knew before, the Spirit can- 
not enable us to remember that which was never in 
the mind. 

M. E. Guers, a French writer, well says: “The 
Spirit and the Word, the Word and the Spirit, are two 
things indissolubly united by God. A theology which 
separates them is not worthy the name. ' The Spirit 
without the Word ’ is, with some, personal inspiration 
with all its illusions, or mysticism in its bad sense, if 
not fanaticism with all its errors. 

“ On the other hand, ‘ the Word without the Spirit ’ 
is, for some, orthodox intellectualism with its deso- 
lating dryness, or, what is still worse, rationalism and 
its errors ; for others it is a prolongation of their child- 
ish comprehension of the Word, the want of peace 
and confidence in the promise of God, of assurance 
and rejoicing over our reconciliation with him through 
faith in Jesus Christ, and it also is a delay in sanctifi- 
cation. Let us avoid these two extremes with equal 
care ; while we hold the Book, let us lift our hearts to 
him who makes us able to read it with profit; in the 
union of the Word and the Spirit, and there alone, is 
there entire safety for our souls.’’ 

In all study concerning the Holy Spirit we need to 
keep close to the Bible. The false doctrine that the 
Spirit leads and guides without reference to the Word 


The Spirit and the Word 


•153 


lies at the very foundation of all folly and fanaticism. 
This claim leads men into error, where impressions 
and whisperings of human fancy are placed above the 
divine oracles of the written Word. The Spirit him- 
self is grieved and dishonored by the setting aside of 
the very instruction which he gave as a light and guid- 
ance to man. The Spirit often does give clear impres- 
sions of duty; but we can be assured that any impres- 
sion which leads us lightly to esteem the Scriptures, 
or to go contrary to their plain teaching, is not the 
leading of the Spirit. 

Another dangerous error is that of claiming to take 
the Word and at the same time rejecting the Spirit. 
This kind of religion is simply a cold, legal form with- 
out life or spiritual power. The Spirit and the Word 
can never be separated. The Spirit is in the Word, 
and it leads us to love and study the Book of God, and 
to obey its holy instructions. 

There must be something by which we can test the 
spirit. We are told to ‘‘try the spirits whether they 
are of God.” i John 4: i. We read of “the spirit 
that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” 
Eph. 2:2. By what shall we test the spirit, and be 
able to distinguish between the leading of the spirit 
from beneath, which seizes hold of men now as truly 
as in Jesus’ time, when great exhibitions of demoniacal 
possession were seen, and the Holy Spirit of God, 
which comes from above? This infallible guide is the 
Holy Bible, which the Spirit himself indited. We have 
been warned that while the power of the Spirit of God 
is coming upon his remnant church, a spirit from be- 
neath will come up and seize hold upon those who, 


154 The Ministry of the Spirit 

because of their unconsecrated condition, have re- 
jected the light of the Word. 

In Early Writings ” (old edition), pages 46, 47, a 
view is given of Jesus going into the most holy place at 
the beginning of the investigative judgment. Of those 
who followed the Saviour into the second apartment 
we read : — 

“ Those who rose up with Jesus would send up their 
faith to him in the holiest, and pray, ' My Father, give 
us thy Spirit.’ Then Jesus would breathe upon them 
the Holy Ghost. In that breath were light, power, and 
much love, joy, and peace.” 

But there was another company seen. Concerning 
these we read: — 

I turned to look at the company who were still 
bowed before the throne ; they did not know that Jesus 
had left it. Satan appeared to be by the throne, trying 
to carry on the work of God. I saw them look up to 
the throne, and pray, ' Father, give us thy Spirit.’ 
Satan would then breathe upon them an unholy influ- 
ence; in it there were light and much power, but no 
sweet love, joy, and peace. Satan’s object was to keep 
them deceived, and to draw back and deceive God’s 
children.” 

Here the two spirits are brought to view. One is 
the Holy Spirit of God; the other is the wnholy spirit 
of Satan. . One is represented as the breath of God ; 
the other, the breath of Satan. Both have light and 
power. In the unholy power of Satan, however, there 
were no sweet love, joy, and peace.” The spirit from 
beneath may possess power and light. Satan is able 
to transform himself into an angel of light. But the 


The Spirit and the Word 155 

fruit of the Holy Spirit — love, joy, and peace — is 
absent. These constitute the kingdom of God. 

Many will be deceived by this spirit of disobedience, 
be led into error, and finally lost. But we need not be 
deceived. We have the unerring guidebook, the Bible, 
which clearly reveals the workings of the Spirit of 
God in the human heart, and unmasks all the decep- 
tions of the power of darkness. Let the Word of God 
be studied as never before, with earnest prayer for the 
illumination and guidance of that same divine Spirit 
which inspired prophets and holy men of old to write it. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


COMMUNION OF THE SPIRIT 


MONO the most blessed and impressive statements 



made by inspired writers concerning the Spirit of 
God is that of the apostle Paul in his benediction to 
the Corinthian church : '' The grace of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the 
Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” 2 Cor. 13: 14. 

What are we to understand by the communion of 
the Spirit ? In Phil. 2 : i we have the expression fel- 
lowship of the Spirit.” This conveys the idea of 
partnership , not especially in business, but in spiritual 
things. We speak of the “ communion service,” or the 
“ Lord’s Supper.” It is at this service that the mem- 
bers of the church meet together, and with the great 
Head of the church commune as a loving family, or as 
the dearest and most intimate friends. This expresses 
to some extent the idea of communion. 

The word communion expresses friendship. Jesus 
“ communed ” with two of his disciples on the way 
to Emmaus the day of his resurrection. He talked 
with them as the most loving friend, and shared their 
hospitality. 

This helps us to understand what is meant by the 
communion of the Holy Spirit. It is to talk together 
as friends; to hold close and confidential relations to- 
gether ; to exchange bosom secrets ; to sympathize in the 
trials and burdens of life ; to have, in a sense, common 


[156] 


157 


Communion of the Spirit 

interests; to be one in spirit. This is a most blessed 
thought for every child of God, yet almost overwhelm- 
ing when we stop to consider all that it means to us. 

Communion with the Spirit means that there is com- 
plete agreement between the Spirit and the individual. 
'' Can two walk together, except they be agreed ? ” 
Amos 3 : 3. Hardly. “ What agreement hath the tern-' 
pie of God with idols ? ” There of course is no basis of 
agreement. “ What communion hath light with dark- 
ness ? ” There is no communion between them. They 
are at war with each other, and those who are enemies 
do not commune together. Let intimate friends once 
become involved in a heated discussion, and their 
friendly communion ceases at once. Belligerency in- 
terrupts communion. 

It is the same with the Spirit of God. It is dove- 
like. Discord and strife, or anything which it con- 
demns, if unsurrendered, breaks its communion with 
the soul. It is of no use to argue and debate, seeking 
some compromise; the Spirit is sovereign. He will 
make no compromise with sin. No idol can sit on 
the throne with him. His will, not ours, must prevail. 
When he points out defects in our lives, they must be 
removed. It is sin only that interrupts our commun- 
ing with the Holy Spirit. When we compromise, ex- 
cuse, or tamper with it, contrary to the instruction and 
warning of the Holy Spirit, we break the connection 
between the soul and the Spirit, and destroy the com- 
munion which should exist. So when Paul prayed 
for the “ communion of the Holy Ghost,” he prayed 
for a oneness, a perfect harmony, between the Spirit 
and the church. 


158 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


But the thought that we have as a companion, a sym- 
pathizing friend, a constant counselor, a burden bearer, 
a bosom friend, one sent into the world as the personal 
representative of Christ, is a very searching one. What 
does the Spirit think of my words, my actions, my 
thoughts, my motives? How is he pleased with my 
missionary endeavors? What is there in my life which 
grieves one so holy ? Do I shock his tender sensibilities 
by rude, boisterous ways, by unkindness in the home, 
by my impatience, irritability, and fretfulness? Do I 
grieve him by reading trashy literature, by joking and 
jesting, by living a cheap, aimless life, by my selfishness 
and pride, by a covetous, stingy disposition? A real- 
ization of the real presence of this divine Representa- 
tive will cause us much sober, serious reflection over 
these questions. 

A representative of heaven! Were we to entertain 
a representative of an earthly throne, we should feel 
highly honored. We should make the most careful 
preparation possible. We should arrange everything 
in our home and in our personal appearance the best 
we could, that he should feel welcome and at home 
while with us, and not be in any way offended and 
the Sovereign whom he represented be displeased or 
dishonored. Surely when we are to have continual fel- 
lowship with Christ’s Vicar on earth, we should be as 
careful in our preparation and deportment as if we 
were to receive a visit from the ambassador of an 
earthly court, and should most earnestly pray that he 
will find no unclean thing in the life and be grieved 
away from us. 

In the upper room with the disciples the Saviour 


159 


Communion of the Spirit 

prayed “that they all may be one; as thou, Father, 
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one 
in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent 
me.” John 17:21. In this verse is expressed a per- 
sonal union with Christ, a union of all believers in 
Christ, and a union through Christ of the Father, the 
Son, and all believers. 

Let us notice further this statement, “ Thou, Father, 
art in me.” The Father dwelling in Christ was re- 
vealed in Christ’s character. Both he and his Father 
had the same character, so that those who saw Christ 
saw the Father also. In verse 23 he says, “ I in them, 
and thou in me.” If the dwelling of the Father in 
Christ was seen in the revelation of the Father’s char- 
acter, Christ in his people is seen through the revela- 
tion of Christ’s character. The Father in the Son, the 
Son in the Father, and the believers in the Son, and 
the Son in his people through the Spirit, — this is in- 
deed a blessed experience ! 

But think what such a communion implies. It means 
a common character. This is not written without some 
realization of the broad meaning the words imply. 
Christ reflected the character of his Father, and the 
people of God are Christ’s representatives in the world, 
and are to reflect his character in a world where they 
shine as lights. “ There is nothing that Christ desires 
so much as agents who will represent to the world his 
Spirit and character .'^ — “ Chris fs Object Lessons 
page 419. 

We cannot represent his character unless we have 
his character. And this high and holy attainment can 
be realized only through the Spirit of God dwelling 


160 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

in our hearts. The work of the Spirit is to implant the 
love of God and write his perfect law in the heart. 
The solemn truth uttered in these words of Christ’s 
makes one feel like walking very softly and humbly 
before the Lord. 

When Jesus comes, a people here in this world of 
sin and sorrow shall be like him; for we shall see 
him as he is.” i John 3 : 2. We are to ‘‘ bear the im- 
age of the heavenly ” as truly as we have home the 
image of the earthly.” How this amazing transforma- 
tion of character is accomplished we are told by the 
inspired apostle. “ But we all, with open face behold- 
ing as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed 
into the same image from glory to glory even as hy the 
Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor. 3:18. This is indeed a 
great change. ^ 

It is only the Spirit of the Lord dwelling within 
us that can fashion us to the image of the Lord set 
before us. Who is sufficient by external imitation of 
Christ to become conformed to the likeness of Christ? 
Imagine one without genius and devoid of the artist’s 
training, sitting down before Raphael’s famous pic- 
ture ^ The Transfiguration ’ and attempting to repro- 
duce it. How crude and mechanical and lifeless his 
work would be! But if such a thing were possible 
that the spirit of Raphael should enter into the man 
and obtain the mastery of his mind and eye and hand, 
it would be entirely possible that he should paint this 
masterpiece ; for it would simply be Raphael reproduc- 
ing Raphael. And this in a mystery is what is true 
of the disciple filled with the Holy Ghost. Christ, 
who is ‘ the image of the invisible God,’ is set before 


161 


Communion of the Spirit 

him as his divine pattern, and Christ by the Spirit 
dwells within him as a divine life, and Christ is able 
to image forth Christ from the interior life to the out- 
ward example .” — The Ministry of the Spirit/' page 
up. 

This means a new man, born of the Spirit. It is in- 
deed the Spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth 
nothing.” There is an impassable gulf between the 
divine nature and the Adamic nature. The likeness 
of Adam can never be reshaped into the image of 
God. The old Adam must die, and there must be a 
new birth, we becoming indeed new creatures. 

A crooked tree may possibly be made straight if one 
begins in time, but no manifestatiofi of power known 
to man can change the nature of a tree, so that grapes 
can be gathered from a thorn bush or figs from thistles. 
Before this change of nature can be effected, a new 
life must be grafted in by the cutting away of the old 
and the putting in of a new scion of life. This is a new 
creation just as truly as man was created in the begin- 
ning and given life by the breath of the Almighty. 
We should fervently pray that the Spirit of God will 
hover over us, and bring order out of spiritual chaos, 
light out of darkness, and impart unto us a new life 
and power. 

“ Spirit divine, attend our prayer. 

And make our hearts thy home ; 

Descend with all thy gracious power: 

Come, Holy Spirit, come! 

“ Come as the light, to us reveal 
Our sinfulness and woe, 

X And lead us in those paths of life 

Where all the righteous go.” 


II 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE UNPARDONABLE SIN 

W HEREFORE, I say unto you, all manner of 
sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : 
but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not 
be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a 
word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him : 
but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it 
shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither 
in the world to come.” Matt. 12: 31, 32. 

The Holy Spirit, as we have seen, is a person of the 
Godhead, the vicar of Christ in the church. He is 
not to be trifled with, and his holiness sinned against 
with impunity. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira 
tempted the Holy Ghost, and because of their false- 
hoods he smote them with death on the spot, as a warn- 
ing for all time to come of how God regards that sin. 
Other instances might be given. The late A. T. Pier- 
son cited the following : — 

“ From time to time awe comes upon as many as 
hear God^s awful inflictions of penalty upon flagrant 
transgressors. Those who are familiar with the re- 
markable career of the Wesley brothers will recall 
more than one instance of supernatural visitations of 
judgment. For example, during Charles Wesley’s re- 
vival meetings at St. Just, in Cornwall, England, a 
country squire, Eustick by name, drove a pack of 
hounds among the congregation in order to break up 
[i6e] 


163 


The Unpardonable Sin 

the meeting and drive the attendants away — a mode 
of annoyance not infrequent in those days. On this 
occasion a number of the Lord’s people withdrew and 
took refuge in a spacious kitchen. The prayer meeting 
held there was of such extraordinary power as to sur- 
pass any other that those who were present had known. 
As the service closed, Mr. Wesley, as if endowed with 
prophetic vision, arose and said, with an awful solem- 
nity and deliberation, ‘ The man who has this day 
troubled you shall trouble you no more forever.’ 
Shortly afterward Eustick passed to his last account, 
in a state of raving madness.” 

“ In the year 1889, a company of twelve young men, 
meeting at a hotel for a carousal and observing their 
number to be that of the apostolic company at the first 
Lord’s Supper, actually celebrated a mock eucharist. 
Before midnight the leader was dead, and every other 
member of the company hung in mortal agony on the 
verge of the grave.” 

A minister relates the following sad experience : — 

‘‘ When I first became pastor of the church, we had 
meetings every night for six months, and scores joined 
our church. One young lady attended all the services 
but the last three. She listened, and was often taken 
into the church parlor by the ladies and pleaded with, 
but she resisted the appeals. We were within three 
nights of closing services, and I stood right under the 
reading desk. We were halfway through the prayer 
meeting when I heard some one walking rapidly down 
the church and saw that young lady making her way 
to the lobby door. A voice spoke so distinctly to me, 

‘ Go and speak to her once more.’ I walked very softly. 


164 The Ministry of the Spirit 

opened the door very gently, and saw the young lady 
standing on the top step. I hesitated, not knowing 
what to say. She was looking up at the moon shining 
brightly, and I heard her say in subdued tones, ' O 
God, for six months thy Spirit has been striving with 
me, but it is of no use; I can never give up the balls, 
and I never, never will give up the card parties ! ’ 
She stood there as if there was a conflict going on in 
her soul, and, kneeling down, she prayed the most aw- 
ful prayer I ever heard. It seemed to chill the blood 
in my veins. Her prayer was this : ‘ Holy Spirit, from 
this hour do let me alone; let me have my own way.’ 
She got up, went down those steps, and never at- 
tended another meeting.” In five weeks she died. 

It is indeed a most solemn thing to turn a deaf ear 
to the continual pleadings of the Holy Spirit asking 
us to forsake a life of sin and live a Christian life. 
Every time we resist his gentle entreaties for us, we 
grieve him, and harden our heart. 

‘‘ A young man was dying, and was aware that his 
end was approaching. His pastor, standing at his bed- 
side, endeavored to lead him to seek the cleansing from 
sin, even at that late hour. The only response the 
young man made to all his tender and loving appeals 
was : ‘ It is useless to speak to me about those things. 
I do not care to listen to them. I know I shall soon 
be lost forever, but I do not seem to care. Two years 
ago I felt concerned about my soul’s salvation, but I 
tried to drive all such thoughts from me, and succeeded 
only too well ; for since that time nothing has seemed 
able to touch my heart, nor do I care even now, while 
I know what awaits me.’ ” 


165 


The Unpardonable Sin 

This sad circumstance points out what may be the 
result of a failure to respond to the call of the Spirit. 
The admonition of the apostle is, “ Quench not the 
Spirit.” I Thess. 5 : 19. The word quench suggests 
the thought of putting out fire. It is used in such texts 
as “ smoking flax shall he not quench ” (Matt. 12 : 20) ; 
“ where . . . the fire is not quenched’' (Mark 9:48) ; 
‘‘quenched the violence of fire” (Heb. 11:34). 
Quenching the Spirit, therefore, means putting out the 
fire of the Holy Spirit in the heart. And when the fire 
is out, only the ashes of sin remain. The body, made 
to be the dwelling place of God, through rebellion may 
become the habitation of devils. 

It is sin that puts out this fire in the soul. Every 
sin is a step in this direction. Are we conscious of 
anything in the life which is inclined to put out the fire 
kindled in the heart by the Spirit? Do we keep quiet 
when we feel the promptings of the Spirit to speak to 
the honor and glory of God? Do we, through love for 
some evil thing, refuse to have it put out of the life? 
Do we decline to say yes when convicted of some duty 
we should perform? Do we decline to say no when 
tempted to do that which we are convinced is con- 
trary to the mind of the Spirit? If so, we are quench- 
ing the Spirit, putting out the fire; and if such a course 
is continued, we may soon reach the place where only 
dead coals and ashes will remain in the life. 

“ Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are 
sealed unto the day of redemption.” Eph. 4 : 30. 
The word here translated “ grieve ” is the same that 
is translated “ sorrowful,” when the Saviour in the 
garden said, “ My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even 


166 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

unto death.” Matt. 26 : 38. This emphasizes what is 
meant by grieving the Spirit. The very agony and sor- 
row of Gethsemane are felt by the Holy Spirit when 
grieved by sin. When we read concerning the anguish 
of that awful hour in the garden, our wonder is that, 
in his love, the Spirit suffers so long with our per- 
verseness. In Noah’s time the Lord said, My spirit 
shall not always strive with man.” Gen. 6 : 3. He was 
striving with those who were so wicked that they cor- 
rupted the earth; but the intimation is given that, un- 
less they repented, he would, dovelike, retire, and give 
them over to destruction. We know no reason why 
this may not be a warning to those living in the last 
days. Doing “ despite unto the Spirit of grace ” is a 
grievous sin, seeing it inflicts upon the Spirit the agony 
of Gethsemane. 

‘‘ But exhort one another daily, while it is called 
Today; lest any of you be hardened through the de- 
ceitfulness of sin.” Heb. 3:13. Sin hardens the 
heart. Every time we quench the voice of conscience, 
the heart is a little harder than before. The fire burns 
dimmer. Conscience begins to sleep, and the voice of 
the Spirit is not heard so distinctly as before. We may 
turn a deaf ear to the warning of an alarm clock, and 
finally fail to hear it at all. So we may persist in ob- 
stinacy and rebellion until the heart becomes so hard 
that the impressions of the Spirit ate no longer felt, 
and we cannot be awakened. It is this class “ who 
being past feeling have given themselves over unto 
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greedi- 
ness.” Eph. 4 : 19. 

Some conscientious Christians are troubled at times 


The Unpardonable Sin 


167 


for fear they have, at some time in their experience, 
committed the unpardonable sin. Such persons need 
have no such fear. The fact that one is troubled about 
the matter is sure evidence that his heart can still be 
impressed by the Holy Spirit, and that he has not com- 
mitted the unpardonable sin. Those who do reach this 
terrible place in their experience are those who have 
rejected light and the entreaties of the Spirit until they 
are “ past feeling,” and are therefore not troubled 
about their sins. 

''All manner of sin and blasphemy shall he for- 
given unto men,” said Jesus. Matt. 12:31. Any sin 
for which we are truly penitent, and which we con- 
fess to God in faith, will be forgiven. The sin against 
the Holy Ghost is not some sin of such awful turpi- 
tude that the blood of Christ cannot avail for it. Jesus 
saves “ unto the uttermost.” But when we continually 
harden the heart until we reach the place in our expe- 
rience where we lose the real sorrow and conviction 
for sin, and do not repent of the sin, it becomes unpar- 
donable, for confession precedes forgiveness. 

‘‘ It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hard- 
ens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their 
errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the 
rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the 
heart hardened. Often the process is gradual and al- 
most imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through 
God’s Word, through his servants, or by the direct 
agency of his Spirit; but when one ray of light is dis- 
regarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual 
perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less 
clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is 


168 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

night in the soul. Thus it had been with these Jewish 
leaders. They were convinced that a divine power 
attended Christ, but in order to resist the truth, they 
attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In 
doing this they deliberately chose deception ; they 
yielded themselves to Satan, and henceforth they were 
controlled by his power.” — The Desire of Ages/' 
page 322. 

“ There are none so hardened as those who have 
slighted the invitation of mercy, and done despite to 
the Spirit of grace. The most common manifestation 
of the sin against the Holy Spirit is in persistently 
slighting Heaven’s invitation to repent. Every step in 
the rejection of Christ is a step toward the rejection of 
salvation, and toward the sin against the Holy Spirit. 

“ In rejecting Christ the Jewish people committed 
the unpardonable sin ; and by refusing the invitation of 
mercy, we may commit the same error. We offer 
insult to the Prince of life, and put him to shame be- 
fore the synagogue of Satan, and before the heavenly 
universe, when we refuse to listen to his delegated mes- 
sengers, and instead listen to the agents of Satan, who 
would draw the soul away from Christ. So long as 
one does this, he can find no hope or pardon, and he 
will finally lose all desire to be reconciled to God.” — 
Id., page 324. 

When one rejects the pleadings of the Holy Spirit 
until the heart becomes calloused and the desire for 
reconciliation to God is lost, he is likely to go to great 
depths in sin. The Pharisees did this. Rather than 
accept Christ they accused him of being possessed with 
Beelzebub — the lord of filth. This was a dreadful 


The Unpardonable Sin 


169 


charge. It shocks me to write it. Skeptics say many 
wicked things about Christ, yet few ever reach that 
place where they become so hardened that they are 
willing to make the terrible charge that Christ was pos- 
sessed of a demon. The Pharisees had rejected light 
until they were willing, rather than to accept the evi- 
dences of his Messiahship, to do this and attribute his 
work to the power of unclean spirits. In this they gave 
evidence of having a “ conscience seared with a hot 
iron,” of being ‘‘ given over to a reprobate mind,” and 
of being “ past feeling.” In this condition they com- 
mitted the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit; 
they were no longer troubled about their sins, and so 
sinned beyond all hope of forgiveness. 

If we feel indifferent and unconcerned about our 
sins, we should be alarmed. The Spirit has long been 
wooing us, but he will not always strive. Do you feel 
unmoved under the most solemn appeals to turn to 
Christ? Do you disregard the solemn appeal of the 
Word of God to follow Christ? Are you indifferent 
to the thought of heaven, and the terrible remorse of 
the lost? Does the death of Jesus on the cross fail to 
melt your heart of adamant? If so, you need to be- 
come alarmed lest your heart become ‘‘ seared ” and 
“ past feeling.” The experience of many is illustrated 
by that of the man walking home one cold night. Re- 
lating his experience, he said : One bitter cold night, 
while walking home leisurely, I instinctively stopped 
and leaned against a wall. The thought came, Why 
don’t you move on ? I said, I don’t feel like it ; I am 
all right. Then the thought came. What does this 
mean ? In a moment I saw my danger, and cried, ‘ O 


170 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


Lord, I am freezing!’ Arousing myself, I started to 
run for dear life. Urging myself on, my blood began 
to course freely, and with a glad heart I exclaimed, 
‘ Thank God, I am saved I ’ ” Almost frozen, yet 
■saved! 

If we feel cold and indifferent, we should, like the 
prodigal son, arise and go to our Father’s house, where 
there are comfort and warmth. 

“ A man may misuse his eyes and yet see ; but who- 
soever puts them out can never see again. One may 
misdirect his mariner’s compass, and turn it aside from 
the north pole by a magnet or a piece of iron, and it 
may recover and point right again; but whosoever 
destroys the compass itself has lost his guide at sea. 
So it is possible for us to sin and be forgiven. But if 
we so harden our hearts that they cannot feel the 
power of the Spirit, who alone can convert us, if the 
eyes of the soul are destroyed, then there is no hope. 
We are beyond the reach of the only power that can 
save us. On the bank of the Niagara River, where 
the rapids begin to swell and swirl most desperately 
preparatory to their final plunge, is a sign board which 
bears the most startling words, ‘ Past Redemption 
Point.’ The one who gets into those boiling rapids, 
and passes that point, cannot retrace his way, cannot 
be rescued by friends.” 

Some striking examples are given in the Bible of 
the sad results of a continual resistance of the Holy 
Spirit. Take the case of Saul. After he was chosen 
king, the prophet of God said to him, “ And the Spirit 
of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt proph- 
esy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.” 


The Unpardonable Sin 171 

“ And it was so, that when he had turned his back to 
go from Samuel, God gave him another heart.” i 
Sam. 10 : 6, 9. 

Saul experienced a change of heart, wrought by the 
power of the Holy Spirit. He was converted; and had 
he continued to yield to the influence of the Spirit, his 
obituary would have read very differently. But he 
hardened his Jieart, he rebelled against God, and dis- 
obeyed his commandments. His persistent disobedi- 
ence quenched the fire of the Spirit in his soul. As a 
result, we read the terrible words, “ But the Spirit of 
the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from 
the Lord troubled him.” i Sam. 16: 14. We see him 
later facing the Philistine hosts, greatly perplexed. 
The prophet Samuel was dead. “ And when Saul in- 
quired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, 
neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” 
I Sam. 28 : 6. Having by headstrong rebellion grieved 
the Spirit, and severed his connection with the throne 
of God, he turned into the darkness of satanic delu- 
sion, and died by his own hand on the field of battle. 
One can scarcely read this sad account without weep- 
ing. It is indeed an impressive example of the danger 
of hardening the heart against the pleadings of the 
Spirit. 

Another case, among the saddest recorded in the 
Bible, is that of Samson. God had a work for him to 
do. He was a judge in Israel, and great opportuni- 
ties were before him ; but they were squandered on the 
altar of folly. At different times it is recorded of him 
that “ the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him.” 
Judges 14:6, 19; 15: 14. As a result of this, he was 


172 The Ministry of the Spirit 

not only spiritually but physically strong, and able to 
put to flight the enemies of the Lord, with no weapon, 
on one occasion, but the jaw bone of an ass. He stands 
to this day a synonym for strength. '' As strong as 
Samson ” is a common expression. But later we see 
him seemingly deserted by the Lord, shorn of his 
strength, a captive, his eyes put out, bound in irons, 
made to grind in the prison house, the sport of the 
Philistines. While on a visit to Copenhagen, I saw a 
painting of this scene by a famous artist. Looking 
upon the picture, I was greatly impressed with the de- 
ceitfulness and foolishness of sin. 

But why this change ? Why was this giant in Israel, 
who had delivered them at different times, now unable 
to deliver himself? Why should this man, whom the 
Spirit of God had used mightily, be now shorn of his 
power? The secret of his downfall is that by an un- 
consecrated life he had grieved the Spirit, and thus cut 
himself off from divine power. 

From his childhood the vow of a Nazarite was 
upon Samson. Those who took this vow separated 
themselves unto the Lord ; they drank no strong 
drink ; no razor came upon their heads ; and they were 
to abstain from every unclean thing “ because the con- 
secration of his God is upon his head.” See Num. 6: 
1-8. God recognized this consecration, and from his 
childhood '' the Spirit of the Lord began to move him.” 
And as long as his consecration remained, his power 
remained. 

But there came a change. Bad associates corrupted 
him. Samson made the mistake others have since 
made of finding a wife among the fashionable, uncon- 


173 


The Unpardonable Sin 

secrated people of the world, instead of among the 
daughters of the brethren. God bore long with him, 
and continued to bless him, even when his life was far 
from what it should have been. But finally the secret 
of his strength was wrung from him by the treachery 
of a woman. He said to her, I have been a Naza- 
rite unto God from my mother’s womb : if I be shaven, 
then my strength will go from me, and I shall become 
weak, and be like any other man.” And when his locks 
were cut off, '‘he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I 
will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. 
And he wist not that the Lord had departed from him.” 
See Judges i6: 16-20. 

His strength gone, and he knew it not! What a sad 
picture! His strength was not in the length of his 
hair, but in the depth of his consecration. His un- 
shaven locks stood as an outward sign of his conse- 
cration and loyalty to God ; and when his consecration 
was gone, and he had lost even the outward sign of it, 
his strength was gone also. 

How clearly this teaches us that power and conse- 
cration go together ! How many shorn Samsons there 
are today, once strong Christians, but backslidden and 
weak now. Some besetting sin has been cherished, and 
spiritual stagnation and decay are the result. As has 
been well said, " Like Judas, men for a while cast out 
devils, and then fall by a devil themselves.” The de- 
cline of spiritual power is not an accident. There may 
be no outward sign, but uncover the privacy of the 
life and the reason will be seen. 

Repentance precedes forgiveness. Through grieving 
the Spirit, the heart becomes hard and callous, and 


174 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


finally “ past feeling.” The desire to repent is gone ; 
we sin, not caring to repent, and the sin is, therefore, 
unpardonable. Darkness instead of light fills the soul, 
and the work of the Spirit is attributed to Satan. In 
rejecting Christ, the Jewish people committed the un- 
pardonable sin; and by refusing the invitation of 
mercy, we may commit the same error.” 

Would that we might be impressed with the dangers 
of grieving the Spirit of God! Our moral disintegra- 
tion is not all at once. It is gradual; we die piecemeal. 
We lose our spiritual sensibility somewhat as the para- 
lytic suffers a progressive loss of feeling and strength. 
A little indulgence here and a little there, and before 
we are aware we have crossed the dead line, and 
awaken to find that, although we once could carry 
off the gates of Gaza, posts and all, we are now 
captives and grinding in some Philistine mill. There is 
no sadder thing that can befall us on earth than, after 
having enjoyed the blessing and power of God, to be 
laid aside because through moral decay we have be- 
come spiritually incompetent. 


CHAPTER XXVI 

FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT 

F ruit bearing is an important factor in the Chris- 
tian life. “ Abide in me, and I in you. As the 
branch cannqt bear fruit of itself, except it abide in 
the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I 
am the vine,, ye are the branches: He that abideth in 
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit : 
for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:4, 5. 
“ Trees of the Lord ” bear fruit unless they are dead. 
A living tree cannot keep from bearing fruit; a dead 
tree cannot bear fruit. Jesus said : “ I am the true 
vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every 
branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: 
and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that 
it may bring forth more fruit.” John 15 : i, 2. While 
the Husbandman may dig about us for a time if we do 
not bear fruit, yet if no fruit appears, there is but one 
thing that remains to be done : that is, to cut us off as 
dead branches, and cast us finally into the fire. 

But the Master does not leave us in uncertainty. He 
tells us how we may bear fruit : “ I am the vine, ye are 
the branches : He that abideth in me, and I in him, the 
same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye 
can do nothing.” The secret of fruit bearing is in 
union with Christ. In the lives of those who so 
abide,” there is seen, not a little, but "" much fruit.” 
The life is in the tree, and if there is a proper union 

[175] 


176 The Ministry of the Spirit 

between the vine and the branch, the sap of life will 
flow into the utmost twig. Apart from the Vine, we 
but wither and die. 

The result of having a professed connection with 
the Vine and yet bearing no fruit, is illustrated in the 
barren fig tree that Jesus cursed. The fig tree had 
leaves, and thus had a pretentious appearance of fruit 
bearing. It said to the hungry passer-by, “ Here is 
fruit.” But when the Saviour looked for fruit, “ he 
found nothing but leaves.” What a striking example 
of a vain, fruitless life! “And Jesus answered and 
said unto it. No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for- 
ever.” “ And in the morning, as they passed by, they 
saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.” Mark ii : 

13. H, 20. 

“ It was, indeed, the very type of a fair profession 
without performance, of the hypocrisy which has only 
leaves, and no fruit. Such a realized parable could not 
be passed in silence by One who drew a moral from 
every incident of life and nature. ‘ Picture of boast- 
ful insincerity,’ said he, loud enough for the disciples 
to hear, — ' type of Israel and its leaders ; pretentious, 
but bearing no fruit to God, — let no fruit grow on 
thee henceforth forever,’ and passed on. They were to 
learn that profession without performance found no 
favor with their Master .” — ''Life and Words of 
Christ/* page 378 . 

We should not forget that it is the Holy Spirit who 
diffuses the life of Christ among the members of his 
body. The “ love of God is shed abroad in our hearts 
by the Holy Ghost.” It is the Spirit that giveth life. 
It is the Spirit that quickeneth. The fruit, therefore, 


Fruits of the Spirit 177 

which is produced in the life is “ the fruit of the 
Spirit/’ 

The apostle Paul, writing to the church at Galatia, 
mentions some of the fruit of the Spirit which will be 
seen in the life of the believer. “ But the fruit of the 
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such 
there is no law.” Gal. 5:22, 23. This fruit cannot 
be produced in the life by merely making good resolu- 
tions, nor by studying the rules of ethical culture, any 
more than sweet water can flow out of a bitter foun- 
tain, or figs grow on a bramble bush. There must be 
a nezv life, a new birth : “ Except a man be born from 
above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3: 3, 
margin. Love comes from God. It is not an attain- 
ment, but an ohtainment. No man in his own strength 
can attain unto that experience which will enable him 
to love his enemies, and be kind to those who de- 
spitefully use him, but he can obtain this blessed expe- 
rience by allowing the love of God to be shed abroad in 
the heart by the Holy Spirit. 

The apostle Peter gives us a list of Christian virtues : 
“ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your 
faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowl- 
edge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to 
patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kind- 
ness ; and to brotherly kindness charity.” 2 Peter i : 
5-7. Then he adds that if these things be in us, we 
shall be neither “ barren nor unfruitful/’ 

The graces here referred to are the fruit, or out- 
growth, of the Spirit in the life. The apostle Paul 
begins with love; Peter ends with love. The apostle 


12 


178 The Ministry of the Spirit 

Peter seems to dwell more on the process of growth, 
by which the fruit of the Spirit is brought to perfec- 
tion in the life. The Christian life is a growth. “ But 
grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ.’* As another has said, Such 
is the process through which the Spirit brings us: 
blossom, berry, fruit, ripeness, vintage, — ' complete in 
Christ’ ” 

Again the apostle says, “ For the kingdom of God is 
not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and 
joy in the Holy Ghost.” Rom. 14: 17. Here the spirit- 
ual kingdom of God is defined. The principles of this 
kingdom are implanted and perfected in our lives, 
through the power of the Spirit of God. Here is 
found what the soul in its struggles with the forces of 
evil longs for, — righteousness, peace, and joy. How 
the heart of the Christian longs for purity, peace, and 
happiness! In every life there are starless nights; 
there are times when we are tossed on the billows of 
Adria, when neither sun, moon, nor stars in many days 
appear; when friends seem few and cold, and hope 
appears to mock us. There are landscapes with som- 
ber hues; there are times of bereavement and afflic- 
tion, when we sit in the region and shadow of death 
and anxiously long for the breaking of the morning 
and the lifting of the clouds. But the Spirit of God 
brings peace and joy to the heart. It brings a peace 
whose tendrils twine around the everlasting Rock. 
‘‘ Peace is love reposing. It is love in the green pas- 
tures ; it is love beside the still waters. It is that great 
calm which comes over the conscience when it sees 
the atonement sufficient and the Saviour willing.” It 


Fruits of the Spirit 179 

keeps the soul serene in the midst of poverty and 
distress. 

The Spirit brings love into the heart. Love is a 
wonderful power. It brought the Saviour from 
heaven to die for an ungodly race. It has strengthened 
the martyrs to face the rack, the fagot, and the wild 
beasts in the arena. Weak and timid women have 
faced the Numidian lions in the Colosseum for the love 
of the Master./ It strengthens the feeble mother to 
watch uncomplainingly through the long vigils of the 
night by the bedside of the sick child. At a great coal 
mine disaster, where a number of miners were en- 
tombed, an aged and feeble man was seen approaching 
with a shovel. He began to dig at the mouth of the 
mine. When remonstrated with, he said, “ Let me 
alone; I have two boys down in this mine.” Love in 
the heart of this aged father strengthened him to make 
a superhuman effort. 

The peace which the Spirit brings into the heart is 
not a stagnant peace, where the malaria of doubt and 
discontent finds a breeding place. It is of a different 
kind. ‘‘ O that thou hadst hearkened to my command- 
ments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy 
righteousness as the waves of the sea.” Isa. 48 : 18. 
It is the peace of motion. It flows on and on, like an 
Amazon, with its banks green, and bearing on its bosom 
the burdens and sorrows of humanity. 

The joy of the Spirit in our own heart will bring joy 
into other hearts. He who selfishly hoards his joy is 
like a man who, with his granary full of grain, says, 
“ I will keep my grain, so that neither birds, mill, nor 
ground shall have it,” and in the spring exclaims, as he 


180 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


sees others sowing grain, “ How wasteful to throw 
away whole handfuls of grain ! ” But in the autumn 
he has only his few bushels left, while they have fields 
of golden grain. 

The Spirit brings gentleness into the soul. “ What 
a great virtue is gentleness ! It is a silent but powerful 
influence. Scientists tell us that the color and silent 
influence of the atmosphere are a power mightier than 
all the noisier forces of nature. Gentleness is the cur- 
tain which from many a beloved form wards off at 
once the summer’s glow and the winter’s wind. It is 
the pillow on which sickness lays its head and forgets 
half its misery.” It is tenderness of feeling. It is 
warmth of feeling. It is love in all its delicacy. Only 
those who have the spirit of gentleness can be real 
gentlemen. 

And how sweet is the fruit of meekness! A boy 
was once asked the question, “ Who are the meek ? ” 
His answer was, “ Those who give soft answers to 
rough questions.” In the life of Jesus we have a per- 
fect example of meekness. Moses was ‘‘ meek, above 
all the men which were upon the face of the earth ; ” 
and it is the meek who shall finally inherit the earth. 
They need not envy kings, or the rich and proud who 
strut about in their splendor. They will be kings and 
princes long after these are dead and forgotten. 

The Spirit implants faith in the soul, that unwaver- 
ing trust which takes God at his word. Some natu- 
ralists desiring to obtain some wild flowers that grew 
on the side of a dangerous gorge oifered a boy a liberal 
sum to descend by a rope and get thbm. He looked at 
the money, thought of the danger, and said, “ I will if 


Fruits of the Spirit 


181 


my father will hold the rope/’ With perfect confi- 
dence he allowed the rope to be tied around him, and 
with father holding the rope, he was lowered into the 
abyss where he could gather the coveted flowers. He 
had faith in his father. In like manner those in whose 
heart the fruit of the Spirit is found will trust in God, 
and go forward, even though the way may be dark. 

An arctic explorer is said to have been moved to tears 
by finding a solitary violet blooming beneath an ice- 
berg. So with those in whom the Spirit abides. Even 
in the most unlikely places, amid poverty and sickness, 
in the slums of the great cities, amid papal corrup- 
tion and apostasy, among the very icebergs of sin, 
through the power of an indwelling Spirit, there may 
bloom forth in us the beauty and perfume of a Chris- 
tian life. It is our continual privilege to walk “ in the 
fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy 
Ghost.” Acts 9: 31. 


CHAPTER XXVII 

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT 

N OW concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would 
not have you ignorant.” i Cor. 12:1. Paul ex- 
horts that we “ desire spiritual gifts.” The individual 
talents we may have are not necessarily the same as the 
gifts of the Spirit. All the mental faculties are gifts, 
or talents, from the Lord. The power of speech is a 
great talent. This may be possessed without any spe- 
cial endowment of the Holy Spirit. Some talents, or 
gifts, are natural, rather than acquired, though all may 
be vitalized by the Spirit of God. 

But there are spiritual gifts which are bestowed 
by the Lord through the Spirit upon his church. 
“ Wherefore he saith. When he ascended up on high, 
he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” 
“ And he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and 
some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; for 
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the min- 
istry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Eph. 
4:8, II, 12. These gifts of the Spirit are placed in 
the temple of the Spirit — the church. “ And God 
hath set some in the church, first apostles, second- 
arily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, 
then gifts of healing, helps, governm.ents, diversities 
of tongues.” i Cor. 12:28. 

As God has set these gifts in the church, man can 
never set them out. We may fail to recognize them, 
[182] 


183 


The Gifts of the Spirit 

but they are there nevertheless, and will remain dur- 
ing the militant period of the church, and be mani- 
fested to a greater or less degree. So long as the Holy 
Spirit is in the church, the gifts of the Spirit will in 
some measure be found there. There is no reason why 
we should not see the manifestations of the gifts of 
the Spirit in the church in its closing work as freely 
as was seen during the special periods in its history. 
The fact that the working of these various gifts is not 
seen in the church at the present time indicates a spirit- 
ual dearth, rather than that any change has been made 
in the plan and purpose of God regarding his church 
and people. These gifts are for the purpose of edify- 
ing the church, which needs edifying as much now as 
in apostolic times. 

Writing to the church at Corinth, Paul thanked God 
that they came “behind in no gift; waiting for the 
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.” i Cor. i : 7. 
Would not God be as willing to see the same fullness 
of spiritual gifts in the church at the present time? 
We can but believe that he would. 

Great diversity is shown in the various and distinct 
gifts of the Spirit. “Now there are diversities of 
gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences 
of administrations, but the same Lord. And there 
are diversities of operations, but it is the same God 
which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the 
Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to 
one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to 
another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit ; to 
another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts 
of healing by the same Spirit ; to another the working 


184 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discern- 
ing of spirits ; to another divers kinds of tongues ; to 
another the interpretation of tongues: but all these 
worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to 
every man severally as he will/’ i Cor. 12:4-11. 

There are many other gifts which might be men- 
tioned, such as “ gifts of healing, helps, government.” 
Many make a serious mistake in emphasizing one gift 
of the Spirit to the exclusion of other important and 
helpful gifts which have been placed in the church for 
the edification of the body. Others make an equally, 
fatal blunder in claiming that certain gifts which God 
/ has placed in the church are not to be manifested in 
the church at the present time. But God has placed 
all these gifts in the church, and it is not for puny, 
finite man to say which gift is necessary, or which is 
being manifested. 

One may not be a prophet and foretell future events, 
but through the Spirit may be able to speak words of 
wisdom. One may not be endued with the power to 
work miracles, but may have a special endowment of 
faith by the Spirit. Another may be especially gifted 
by the Spirit as a teacher, and be of great value to the 
church. All the gifts are helpful, and none are to be 
despised. 

The manifestation of some gift might be exercised 
in the church, and we not know it. While one gift may 
be more helpful and important than others, yet all are 
necessary to the proper development of the body. 

The gifts of the Spirit, especially that of prophecy, 
have been manifested in the church since the fall of 
man. On account of the spiritual condition of the 


The Gifts of the Spirit 


185 


church these gifts at some periods have not been so 
fully seen as at other times ; yet at the time when Jesus 
was upon earth, we read that Zacharias, the father of 
John the Baptist, “ was filled with the Holy Ghost, and 
prophesied.” Luke i : 67. Simeon, a devout man, 
came into the temple and prophesied of Jesus as “a 
light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy 
people Israel.” Luke 2 : 32. There was Anna also, a 
godly woman, who was “ a prophetess.” Verse 36. 

In the early ^hurch after Pentecost there was a 
marked manifestation of spiritual gifts, and no hint is 
given that they were to be limited to the period of the 
primitive church, or that any of them would be with- 
drawn while others remained. 

Peter on the day of Pentecost explained to the peo- 
ple the miraculous manifestation of the Spirit seen on 
that occasion by directing them to the prophecy of 
Joel : “ But this is that which was spoken by the 
prophet Joel ; and it shall come to pass in the last days, 
saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh : 
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and 
your young men shall see visions, and your old men 
shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my 
handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my 
Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” Acts 2: 16-18. 

Some make the mistake of seeking to confine this 
prophecy and its fulfillment wholly to the days of the 
apostles. But when we refer to the prophecy of Joel 
from which the apostle quotes, we find that he proph- 
esies not only of “ the former rain,” or “ teacher of 
righteousness,” as given in the margin, but of the “ lat- 
ter rain” as well. Joel 2:23. Now on the day of 


186 The Ministry of the Spirit 

Pentecost the former rain came upon the church, pre- 
paring the people for service and a rich harvest of 
souls. The book of Acts, and many passages in the 
epistolary correspondence of the great apostle Paul, 
tell the story of the glorious work which was wrought. 
But the latter rain did not fall at that time. The for- 
mer and the latter rain did not fall together. The 
latter rain is to come upon the church just before the 
harvest, or end of the world, to prepare the church 
for the triumphant victory over sin and the power of 
darkness at that time. 

And what may we expect under the latter rain ? The 
prophet Joel said the former rain would be given mod- 
erately, speaking no doubt comparatively. Then under 
the latter rain we may expect to see greater revealings 
and manifestations of the Holy Spirit than were seen 
in the apostolic church following the former rain. 

Why may we not expect that in the closing days of 
the church on earth there will be seen all the gifts of 
the Spirit, edifying and bringing into unity those who 
are waiting and looking for the coming of the Lord? 


CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE LATTER RAIN 

\ SK ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter 
-iTA- rain; so the Lord will make bright clouds, and 
give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the 
field/’ Zech. lo^: i. 

On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost came 
in fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise given in the 
upper room that “ another Comforter ” would come to 
take his place in the church, was fulfilled the prophecy 
of Joel concerning the “ former rain.” Joel 2 : 23. 
This same prophecy also speaks of the latter rain, — a 
second outpouring of the Spirit, — for the strength- 
ening of the church and the ripening of earth’s har- 
vest. And as surely as the former rain came upon 
the church, so surely will the latter rain also come. 

We are exhorted to ask, or pray, for rain “ in the 
time of the latter rain.” The time is here. Are we 
praying for and receiving the rain ? In response to the 
prayer, the Lord promises to give “ showers of rain.” 
The result of this outpouring of the Spirit is that “ the 
floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall over- 
flow with wine and oil.” Joel 2 : 24. The latter rain 
will give force and power to the closing work of the 
gospel, and the earth will be lightened with the glory 
of the truth. I heard those clothed with the armor 
speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. 
Many had been bound ; some wives by their husbands, 

[187] 


188 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

and some children by their parents. The honest who 
had been prevented from hearing the truth, now ea- 
gerly laid hold upon it. All fear of their relatives was 
gone, and the truth alone was exalted to them. They 
had been hungering and thirsting for truth ; it was 
dearer and more precious than life. I asked what had 
made this great change. An angel answered, ‘ It is the 
latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the 
Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.’ ” 

“ Mighty miracles were wrought, the sick were 
healed, and signs and wonders followed the believers. 
God was in the work, and every saint, fearless of con- 
sequences, followed the convictions of his own con- 
science, and united with those who were keeping all 
the commandments of God ; and with power they 
sounded abroad the third message. I saw that this 
will close with power and strength far exceeding the 
midnight cry. 

“ Servants of God, endowed with power from on 
high, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy 
consecration, went forth to proclaim the message from 
heaven. Souls that were scattered all through the re- 
ligious bodies answered to the call, and the precious 
were hurried out of the doomed churches, as Lot was 
hurried out of Sodom before her destruction. God’s 
people were strengthened by the excellent glory which 
rested upon them in rich abundance and prepared 
them to endure the hour of temptation. I heard every- 
where a multitude of voices saying, ‘ Here is the pa- 
tience of the saints : here are they that keep the com- 
mandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ ” — " Early 
Writings'' {old edition), pages 7jp. 


The Latter Rain 


189 


For this glorious result we are to look and to pray 
earnestly, under the influence and power of the latter 
rain. We must not make the mistake of looking for 
the evidence of the latter rain in some great demon- 
stration or spectacular performance. Rain does not 
convey the idea of show or display. “ Unless we are 
daily advancing in the exemplification of the active 
Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the manifes- 
tation of the Hol;^ Spirit in the latter rain. It may be 
falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not dis- 
cern nor receive it.” — Special T estimony.” 

This is a startling statement. It is only those who 
are advancing in Christian virtues who will either rec- 
ognize or receive the power of the latter rain. All 
about them are those whom God is visiting, but those 
who are failing to make advancement in the Christian 
life are passed by. Surely this would be a very sad 
experience ! 

This brings us face to face with what it means to us 
individually to receive the latter rain and share in the 
final triumph of the work of God. From the Testi- 
mony from which I have already quoted, I make 
another extract: — 

“ It was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by 
earnest prayer and consecration of themselves to God, 
that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of 
the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The same 
work, only in a greater degree, must be done now.” 

The key, then, that unlocks the storehouse of bless- 
ing, and brings us to the blessed experience of the 
latter rain, is consecration. Earnest and importunate 
prayer and the forsaking of all sin are included in this. 


190 The Ministry of the Spirit 

This consecration, we are told, is to be carried forward 
to “ a greater degree than before Pentecost, when the 
promised Paraclete took his place in the church. The 
reason, then, why the latter rain is withheld must be 
that those who are expecting it are not ready to re- 
ceive it. 

Nothing is clearer than that a Christian receives 
power from God in proportion to the completeness of 
consecration, or surrender. So before the fullness of 
the latter rain, there must be the fullness of consecra- 
tion. Great power means great surrender. “ In con- 
version we receive, in consecration we give ; in the one 
we accept eternal life from God, in the other we offer 
up ourselves in self-surrender to God; in the one we 
appropriate the work of Christ done for us, in the 
other we fulfill the work of the Spirit in us.” 

True consecration is illustrated by the device seen 
on an ancient seal. It is that of a burning candle, and 
underneath it the inscription, I give light by being 
myself consumed.” We give light only by giving up 
our lives. All must be laid on the altar, a living sac- 
rifice. And when we unreservedly place ourselves on 
the altar, God will kindle the fire. 

The seal on the tomb of Adam Clarke is a candle 
burned down to the socket. Underneath are the words, 
In living for others I am burned away.” Rev. 
Charles L. Goodell says : “ A good picture for every 
pastor’s study is the scene of Newburyport, with 
Whitefield, on the last night of his life, ‘ weary in his 
Master’s work, but not of it,’ standing on the stairs of 
his humble home, holding a light in his hand and talk- 
ing to the people till the candle burned to its socket and 


The Latter Rain 


191 


went out. Then the old hero goes up to his chamber. 
As the light of the morning breaks, the lamp of his life 
goes out. There you have your burning and shining 
light.” 

Another impressive illustration of consecration, and 
the power of the Holy Spirit which was manifested 
as a result, is seen in the life of this noted divine. 
He was the companion of the Wesleys in their work. 
He tells us he spent whole days wrestling, Jacob- 
like, with God for his blessing. He found this bless- 
ing, and thus speaks of his experience at his ordi- 
nation : — 

When the bishop laid his hands upon my head, if 
my evil heart doth not deceive me, / offered up my 
zvhole spirit, soul, and body to the service of God's 
sanctuary. Let come what will, life or death, depth or 
height, I shall henceforth live like one who this day 
in the presence of men and angels, took the holy sac- 
rament upon the profession of being inwardly moved 
by the Holy Ghost to take upon me that ministration 
in the church.” “I call heaven and earth to witness 
that, zuhen the bishop laid his hand upon me, I gave 
myself up, to be a martyr for him who hung upon the 
cross for me. Known unto him are all the future 
events and contingencies. I have thrown myself blind- 
folded, and I trust without reserve, into his almighty 
hands.” — Stevens's ‘'History of Methodism," Vol. I, 
page 105. 

Concerning the result of this complete surrender in 
the life of Whitefield we are told that from the very 
first sermon of Whitefield, when fifteen were driven to 
an agony of conviction, to the last this was the uni- 


192 The Ministry of the Spirit 

form result of his ministry. John Newton records of 
him that in a single week he received no less than a 
thousand letters from those distressed in conscience 
under his preaching. Surely this was not the fruit of 
his ' graceful oratory/ which Franklin and Chester- 
field so much admired, but of that power from on high 
which is promised to those who are ready to tarry in 
Jerusalem until they be endued with it.” 

Is there any reason why the people who expect 
Christ to come in a few brief years, who are longing 
and praying for the latter rain to come and finish the 
mystery of God in the earth, should not make as full 
and unreserved surrender to God as did Whitefield? 
Should not every minister on whom the hands of or- 
dination are laid, place himself “ without reserve ” in 
God’s hands, “ to be a martyr for him who died on the 
cross ” ? Should not workers in every line do the 
same? If not, why not? Should not the lay members 
of the church throw themselves “ blindfolded ” into 
his hands? Can we trust God and his truth to lead us 
as far as this? 

What a mighty transformation the outpouring of 
the Holy Spirit will make in churches and individual 
experiences ! It will change a wilderness into a fruit- 
ful field. We are told that when Sir Samuel Baker 
was exploring in the upper Nile valley, he pitched his 
tent one night in the bed of a large river long since 
dry. The heat was stifling, and the country apparently 
dead. That night the river rose into a torrent. He 
had scarcely time to escape with his Arab attendants. 
When morning broke, the entire scene was trans- 
formed. Birds were singing, people were rejoicing, 


The Latter Rain 


193 


and the large, broad river was flowing on to the sea. 
The natives began immediately to irrigate, and the 
whole atmosphere of the place was surcharged with 
life. It was nature's baptism. With such a baptism 
does the Holy Spirit fill the soul and change the life. 

It is a glorious hour which awaits the church in the 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the closing work of 
the gospel. Thank God we are not going to be 
dragged on forever like Pharaoh with the wheels off 
his chariot. Our hearts may truly rejoice with the 
thought that very likely many of us shall live to see 
the outpouring of the Spirit in the latte? rain, when 
the sons and the daughters of God shall prophesy, and 
the young men shall see visions, and the old men shall 
dream dreams. Perhaps there will be no miraculous 
gifts, for they will not be required; but yet there shall 
be such a miraculous amount of holiness, such an ex- 
traordinary fervQr of prayer, such a real communion 
with God, and so much vital religion, and such a spread 
of the ^ gospel message, that every one will see that 
verily the Spirit is being poured out, and the latter 
rain is descending from above.” 

In view of the solemn hours that are drawing near, 
when the test will come to every soul, will anything 
less than the fullness of the Spirit suffice? And as 
surely as God gave to Whitefield, and to others whom 
we could mention, the power of the Spirit, so surely 
he will pour upon his remnant people the latter rain. 
Shall we not individually get ready to receive it? 

“ The harvest time is almost here. 

But flowers and fruits and grain 
Are drying up, and turning sear. 

And languishing for rain. 


13 


194 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


“The soil is baked, and hard as stone; 

The very beasts complain; 

The earth, with open mouth, doth moan : 

‘ Send rain, O Lord, send rain ! ’ 

“ As pants the hart, we pant for thee ; 

All earthly help is vain; 

O, hearken to our humble plea : 

‘ Send rain, O Lord, send rain ! ’ 

‘ ‘ I will pour water,’ thou hast said, 

‘ Upon the soul athirst. 

And floods, where Want and Famine tread. 
Upon the ground accursed.’ 

“ The latter rain is due, O Lord, 

To ripen off the grain, 

The time foretold within thy Word, 

When we must ask for rain. 

“We claim thy promise, thy ‘ bright cloud ; ’ 
O, send thy showers again 
‘To every herb,’ as thou hast vowed! 

Send rain, O Lord, send rain ! 

“ By faith we hear the freshening breeze. 
And see the lightning’s glare; 

We know that thou hast heard our pleas: 

‘ Prepare us. Lord, prepare I ’ ” 


/ 


V 


CHAPTER XXIX 

RESULTS OF SPIRIT FILLING 

S OME of the records of the great conquests and 
special work of the apostles in the book of Acts 
are introduced with the words, “ Filled with the Holy 
/Ghost.” Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31. One able writer has well 
said that the book of Acts might properly be called 
“ The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” In the early history 
of the church, when leaders were wanted it was pos- 
sible to find those who were “ filled with the Holy 
Ghost.” In like manner the church should have Spirit- 
filled leaders in this time. It was because the apostles 
were Spirit filled that they were able to do great things 
for God. What they did was wrought by the Spirit 
in them. 

It was this Spirit filling for service that the Saviour 
had in mind when he said to the disciples, “ But tarry 
ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye fie endued with 
power from on high.” Luke 24:49. These words 
were not spoken to unbelievers, but to believers, to 
chosen disciples. The disciples had experienced a large 
measure of the Spirits power. They had felt its trans- 
forming power in their own lives. They had seen the 
great miracles of Christ, and witnessed the workings 
of the Holy Spirit in his life. But Jesus saw they 
needed a baptism of the Spirit for service; therefore 
he said, “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not 
many days hence.” Acts 1:5. And although the dis- 

[195] 


196 The Ministry of the Spirit 

ciples were from the humbler walks of life and without 
great education from the world’s standpoint, filled with 
the Spirit they were able to stir the world wherever 
they went. 

“ Look at this old piece of common iron. Let us 
wrap the electric current around it, and what wonders ! 
It talks, it sings, it lifts loads, it turns night into day, 
and carries us up hill and down dale and through the 
waters, — a new wonder every day. The greatest thing 
in the world is the power of the Holy Spirit. See that 
uncouth, unlettered man, sunk in sin, — common iron. 
Something happens. Call it by any name you like. 
The Spirit of God envelops that man, and he melts and 
moves a vast audience as he speaks for God. Jerry 
McAuley (the great missionary worker in New York 
City), the river thief, and Samuel Hadley, the drunk- 
ard, became the lights of New York slums; and when 
death claimed them, the great city wept.” 

We believe there is an enduement of the Holy Spirit 
for Christians today; not to work miracles and make 
a show, but for the work of saving souls. And just 
in proportion as God has given to every person a work 
to do in saving souls, he has promised^him a spiritual 
equipment for his work. And when this is believed, 
and laid hold of by faith, it will change many a des- 
ert experience into a watered garden. It will change 
churches that are like a Sahara into an Eden. 

In tracing the history of the church through the 
centuries, we find striking examples of consecrated, 
Spirit-filled men who have had great power with God 
and with men. Think af Paul and the other apostles 
in the first century. Through the Dark Ages God had 


197 


Results of Spirit Filling 

his witnesses. Great earnestness and spiritual power 
were seen in the mountains of Piedmont, in Spain, in 
Belgium, in Bohemia, and other places. This zeal the 
terrors of the Inquisition could not quench. Thou- 
sands were put to death, but spiritual power continued 
to be manifested. It gave Christian fortitude to gray- 
haired men, tender virgins, and weak women to face 
the fagot, the rack, the gallows, and the wild beasts in 
the arena. 

Under the preaching of Luther and his associates, 
the kingdoms of the world were stirred, and the papal 
throne feared for its existence. Knox, in his burning 
zeal, exclaimed, “ Give me Scotland, or I die! ” Such 
spiritual earnestness and power attended his words 
that Scotland was stirred to her depths. 

Who cannot see in Livingstone, who lies buried in 
Westminster Abbey, one of England’s uncrowned 
kings, a man whom the Spirit of God greatly used? 
The same spiritual halo gathers around Carey, who 
gave his life to India; Judson, who laid down his life 
for the Burmese ; Morrison, who placed his life on the 
altar for China; John G. Paton, who devoted his life 
to the cannibals of the New Hebrides ; and many other 
worthies whom we might mention. 

Under the preaching of Whitefield and the Wesleys, 
great spiritual power was seen. They were examples 
of Spirit-filled men. A formal church was aroused. 
Society was stirred to its foundation. In the fields, 
miners and thousands of the common people, with 
tearful eyes, listened to the preaching of Wesley. 
Bishop Simpson reports Cardinal Manning as saying 
that “ had it not been for the preaching of Wesley, no 


198 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

man could tell into how deep a degradation England 
would have sunk.” Why was he able to give such a 
spiritual uplift? It was because the power of the Holy 
Spirit was at work. 

Great power attended the preaching of Jonathan 
Edwards in New England. On one occasion one of 
his auditors is reported to have said that he fully 
expected to see the heavens open and the Judge de- 
scend.” A great spiritual awakening followed the 
preaching of Chalmers. “ It is said that Professor 
Young, who occupied the chair of Greek in the uni- 
versity, was on one occasion so electrified that he 
leaped up from his seat upon the bench near the pulpit, 
and stood breathless and motionless, gazing at the 
preacher till the burst was over, the tears all the while 
rolling down his cheeks.” 

Most startling and almost overwhelming results at- 
tended the preaching of Charles G. Finney. In differ- 
ent places where he labored, whole communities be- 
came greatly convicted of their sins. It is said that 
the feeling was such at times as ‘‘ to make the stout- 
est men writhe on their seats as if a sword had been 
thrust into their hearts.” He attributes his work to 
a special baptism of the Holy Spirit given him for 
service. 

George Muller, who conducted the orphanage at 
Bristol, England, for many years, sheltering, feeding, 
and clothing thousands of children, with no funds ex- 
cept those sent him in answer to prayer, is called “ the 
standing miracle of the nineteenth century.” He 
stands as an example of faith and great spiritual 
power. In his experience is shown what God is will- 


Results of Spirit Filling 199 

ing and able to do for a consecrated, Spirit-filled man 
in this time. 

Then there is the work of D. L. Moody. Though 
not possessing a finished education, he secured a bap- 
tism of spiritual power that enabled him to stir the 
English-speaking world. The sinners in Zion were 
made afraid, and thousands without hope were brought 
to Christ. A fellow lab\)rer says of him : “ I have seen 
him preach with the fire of heaven illuminating his 
countenance, with the tears blinding his eyes, when he 
could scarcely speak for sobs ; and hundreds cried out, 
‘What must we do to be saved?’” Concerning his 
own experience, both before and after being filled 
with the Holy Spirit for service. Moody says : — 

“ I can myself go back almost twelve years and 
remember two holy women who used to come to my 
meetings. It was delightful to see them there, for 
when I began to preach, I could tell by the expression 
of their faces they were praying for me. At the close 
of the Sabbath evening services they would say to me, 

‘ We have been praying for you.’ I said, ‘ Why don’t 
you pray for the people? ’ They answered, ' You need 
power.’ ‘ I need power,’ I said to myself ; ‘ why, I 
thought I had power.’ I had a large Sabbath school 
and the largest congregation in Chicago. There were 
some conversions at the time, and I was in a sense 
satisfied. But right along these two godly women kept 
praying for me, and their earnest talk about ‘ the 
anointing for special service ’ set me thinking. I asked 
them to come and talk with me, and we got down on 
our knees. They poured out their hearts that I might 
receive the anointing of the Holy Ghost. And there 


200 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

came a great hunger into my soul. I knew not what 
it was. I began to cry as never before. The hunger 
increased. I really felt that I did not want to live any 
longer if I could not have this power for service. I 
kept on crying all the time that God would fill me with 
his Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of New York, 
O, what a day! I cannot describe it; I seldom refer 
to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name. 
Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for 
fourteen years. I can only say, God revealed himself 
to me, and I had such an experience of his love that I 
had to ask him to stay his hand. 

“ I went to preaching again. The sermons were not 
different; I did not present any new truths, and yet, 
hundreds were converted. I would not be placed back 
where I was before that blessed experience if you 
would give me all Glasgow.” 

The late William Booth enjoyed in a large measure 
the help -of the Holy Spirit. Concerning the secret of 
his success, the Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman says : — 

“ When I was in London, I received word that if I 
was at the Salvation Army headquarters at ten o’clock 
sharp, I might meet General Booth. I hurriedly made 
my way there, for he was to leave for the Continent in 
a very few minutes. When I looked into his face and 
saw him brush back his hair from his brow, heard him 
speak of the trials and conflicts and victories, I said, 

‘ General Booth, tell me what has been the secret of 
your success all the way through.’ He hesitated a 
moment, and then I saw the tears come into his eyes 
and steal down his cheeks ; then he said : ‘ I will tell 
you the secret. God has had all there was of me. 


201 


Results of Spirit Filling 

There have been men with greater brains than I, men 
with greater opportunities, but from the day I got the 
poor of London on my heart, and a vision of what 
Jesus Christ could do with the poor of London, I made 
up my mind that God should have all of William 
Booth there was : and if there is anything of power in 
the Salvation Army today, it is because God has all 
the adoration of my heart, all the power of my will, 
and all the influence of my life.’ Then he looked at 
me a minute, and I soon learned another secret of his 
power. He said, ‘ When do you go? ’ I said, ‘ In five 
minutes.’ He said, ‘ Pray with me.’ I dropped on my 
knees with General Booth by my side, and prayed a 
stammering, stuttering prayer ; and then he talked with 
God about the outcast of London, the poor of New 
York, the lost of China, the great world lying in wick- 
edness, and then he opened his eyes as if he were look- 
ing into the very face of Jesus, and with sobs he 
prayed God’s blessing upon every mission worker, 
every evangelist, every minister, every Christian; and 
with his eyes still overflowing with tears, he bade me 
a good-by, and started away, past eighty years of age, 
to preach on the Continent. And I learned from Wil- 
liam Booth that the greatness of a man’s power is the 
measure of his surrender. It is not a question of who 
you are or what you are, but of whether God controls 
you.” 

It is not numbers, wealth, or worldly honor that 
counts with God. It is Spirit-filled men and women 
that are needed. It is a question of putting away sin 
and wholly surrendering to God. Those who are 
empty of sin God will fill with his Spirit. We may not 


202 The Ministry of the Spirit 

be conscious of it. Moses did not know that his face 
shone, but the people did. 

“ Placed on the insulated stool and connected with 
the electrical machine, we are filled with electricity, 
filled so full that every hair upon our heads stands 
almost erect. Yet we have no consciousness of it. 
But let any one come near us, and the fire sparkles 
from every part. So we may be filled unconsciously 
with divine influence, which will sparkle from our 
eyes and issue in words of power from our tongues. 
How wonderfully is science revealing to us divine 
possibilities! The electric messages we send to our 
brothers, over mountains, under oceans, across the 
globe, so quietly, unseen and unheard by those around, 
do they not illustrate how God can reach our hearts, 
how he can infuse his own power, without any out- 
ward manifestation? This power is not only * from on 
high,’ it is a connecting link between the throne and 
our hearts. It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, for 
regeneration, not for sanctification, but to use the 
whole of a purified nature, and especially the tongue, 
for aggressive Christian work.” 


CHAPTER XXX 

PERSONAL SOUL WINNING 

T hen the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and 
join thyself to this chariot.” Acts 8:29. 

Here in one short verse is set before us one phase 
of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of every 
believer. Here was a man wanting light. He was 
reading the Holy Scriptures, but did not understand 
what he was reading. The Holy Spirit communed 
with Philip, and directed him to go and personally 
instruct the eunuch in the way of the Lord. 

The “love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by 
the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Rom. 5 : 5. 
God loved the lost, and gave his Son to save them 
from sin. When the Spirit therefore is allowed to 
abide in our hearts, it will lead us to give our lives for 
those who are lost. It lays upon every heart a clear 
burden for this work. The great apostle said he had 
“ great heaviness and continual sorrow ” in his heart 
for his people rejecting Christ. Likewise in every 
heart that yields to the Spirit’s gentle influence there 
will be a burden for lost souls. Many have a barren 
Christian experience, because they neglect to follow 
the leadings of the Spirit in laboring for these who 
are in need of help. The Lord gives us the baptism 
of the Spirit for service, and to those who refuse to 
take up the cross and personally search for the lost 
he withholds the fullness of the blessing. 


[203] 


204 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


One day from the deck of an ocean liner a boat was 
seen drifting in mid-ocean. It had come from a sink- 
ing vessel. A boat and crew were sent in pursuit. 
In the bottom of the drifting boat a man was found, 
exhausted and unconscious. As he was lifted up and 
taken into the other boat, he partially revived, and the 
first feeble words heard from his lips were, “ There’s 
another man in the boat.” Then he again became 
unconscious. Saved himself, his first thought was to 
have another saved. / 

This incident illustrates the spirit of the true Chris- 
tian. One of the first evidences of the indwelling of 
the Holy Spirit is an interest in some other soul, in the 
other man in the boat, in the man who is the farthest 
down. The Scriptures abound in examples of personal 
work for souls by those who were Spirit filled. Some 
of the greatest sermons Jesus preached were to one 
soul. By night he talked personally with Nicodemus, 
and instructed him about his soul. A large part of the 
third chapter of John is a record of the instruction 
given at this interview. In a personal talk he taught 
the Samaritan woman the way of life, and she imme- 
diately began personal work and brought other souls 
to the Master. To the one who said he would follow 
Jesus whithersoever he went, the Master gave some 
valuable lessons. To another he said, Go thou and 
preach the kingdom of God.” He instructed another 
concerning the sin of ‘‘ looking back.” The one man 
seems to have been the congregation in much of 
Christ’s ministry. In this he has left us an example. 

Andrew, being led by the Spirit to find the Mes- 
siah, “ findeth his own brother Simon.” Philip, being 


Personal Soul Winning 205 

found of Christ, findeth Nathanael.” Philip the 
evangelist has a personal interview with the treasurer 
of Queen Candace, and leaves him a baptized believer. 
Paul and Silas labor personally with the jailer and his 
household in the midnight hours, and have the joy of 
witnessing their conversion and baptism before dawn. 
Aquila and Priscilla do personal work with Apollos, 
and expound unto him the way of God more per- 
fectly.” These few examples gleaned from the Bible 
record of the lives of Christ and his followers should 
admonish us, as Christian workers, to similar en- 
deavor. 

Some of the more recent noted soul winners were 
themselves won to Christ by the personal efforts of 
Spirit-filled persons. D. L. Moody, when a young 
man clerking in a store, was visited by his Sunday- 
school teacher, and talked to about his soul. Mr. 
Moody says, “ I had not felt I had a soul till then.” 
Colonel Hadley, who is said to have knelt and prayed 
with more than thirty-five thousand drunkards, de- 
clares that one of the agencies that led him to Christ 
was a brief talk on the train with Chaplain McCabe. 
J. Wilbur Chapman, the noted evangelist, says that 
the touch of his Sunday-school teacher in a revival 
meeting, and the question, “ Do you not think you had 
better stand ? ” started him for the kingdom. The late 
H. Clay Trumbull was won to Christ largely through 
a personal letter written him by a friend. He in turn 
became a great personal worker. 

A visitor at a pottery observed a workman molding 
some clay. The process seemed slow. The visitor 
asked if there was no tool that could do the work. 


206 The Ministry of the Spirit 

“ No,” replied the potter, “ we have tried several, but 
somehow in this work we must have the human touch.” 
So in molding human souls into vessels for the Mas- 
ter’s use, there must be the personal touch. 

This personal work in churches and Sabbath schools 
I am sure needs emphasis. The lack in this work in- 
dicates an absence of the Spirit’s power. No person 
can be a successful soul winner without putting forth 
personal efforts for those who are unconverted. Much 
of the fruit of souls must be hand picked. 

A clergyman was one day walking on Broadway, 
New York, and noticing a crowd gathered about a 
little stray child, he stopped. The child had become 
separated from friends, and did not know his way 
home, but seeing the look of sympathy on the gentle- 
man’s face, stretched out his hands and pleadingly 
said, Won’t you please show me my way home?” 
The clergyman says, “ That cry has been sounding in 
my ears ever since, when I find myself near a wander- 
ing soul likt that boy in the city.” It is even so with 
every soul born of the Holy Spirit. 

Within easy reach of each of us there are many lost 
souls who need some one to show them the way to 
their Father’s house. Their condition is a mute appeal 
to us for help. Some of these sit every Sabbath in 
our churches. It seems unspeakably sad to allow them 
to sit there week after week and no personal effort be 
made to bring them to Christ. I was on a camp 
ground once when the word went out that a little boy, 
who had been left in a tent while the parents attended 
a morning meeting, was lost. Soon the whole camp 
was astir. Tears were shed, and anxiety was seen on 


Personal Soul Winning 207 

every face. Breakfast was forgotten ; nobody cared to 
eat. In every direction scores of people scattered and 
continued their search until the lost child was found. 
But in every community, in churches, and in Sabbath 
schools there are those who are lost, and no such stir 
as this is seen, ^^/hy is it? I ask. Can anybody give 
a satisfactory reason as to why we are so indifferent? 
What answer can we give personally? 

Christians who are born of the Spirit are to resur- 
rect the dead. This is the work of those who are the 
light of, the world. They are to bring to life those 
who are " dead in trespasses and sin.” This work re- 
quires spiritual power, surely. Only those on whom 
the Spirit has breathed can do this work. An instruc- 
tive miracle wrought by Elisha, throws some light on 
^ how this may be done. The son of the Shunammite 
woman died. In her sorrow and distress the mother 
laid him on Elisha’s bed, and hastened to the man of 
God for help. And when Elisha was come into the 
house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his 
bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon 
them twain, and prayed unto the Lord. And he went 
up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his 
mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon 
his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; 
and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he re- 
turned and walked in the house to and fro; and went 
up, and stretched himself upon him ; and the child 
sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.” 
2 Kings 4:32-35. 

Elisha had to deal with a dead child. So do Spirit- 
filled Christians. The prophet was not satisfied with 


208 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


merely cleansing the dead body, embalming it, or wrap- 
ping it in fine linen, and leaving it still a corpse. Nor 
was he satisfied when the corpse seemed to wax warm. 
The dead must live; so he labored on till life was 
restored. 

It is not enough to teach people about the Bible, to 
instruct them with beautiful lessons drawn from the 
Scriptures, to inculcate moral duties, and teach them 
the mere letter of the gospel. Our mission is to be 
the means, in the hands of God, of bringing life from 
heaven to dead souls. If we fail in this, our work is 
a failure. 

Gehazi was sent by Elisha to awaken this dead child, 
but, doubtless from lack of consecration and spiritual 
power, failed. What a terrible loss he sustained! 
When Elisha came, he shut the door, and alone with 
the dead child prayed earnestly to God. He came in 
close personal touch with him. And the prophet was 
rewarded by seeing the dead live. There is a lesson 
in this for every Christian as to how to win souls for 
the Master. It means prayer, unconditional consecra- 
tion, and personal, persevering labor. 

It would help us perhaps to become more active and 
earnest in the work of saving souls if we could realize 
fully the value of even one child. I read something 
recently which impressed this very deeply on my 
mind : — 

“ A farmer in North Carolina once drove with two 
mettlesome horses into the town. Stopping in front 
of one of the stores, he was about to enter when his 
horses took fright. He sprang in front of them, and 
heroically seized the reins. Maddened by strange 


Personal Soul Winning 209 

noises, the horses dashed down the street, the man 
still clinging to the bridles. On they rushed, until, 
wild with frenzy, they reared on their haunches and, 
leaping upon the man, all came with a crash to the 
earth. When the people came to rescue the bleeding 
body of the man, and found him in death^s last 
agony, a friend, bending tenderly over him, asked, 
^ Why did you sacrifice your life for horses and 
wagon ? ’ With his last breath, the man gasped, ‘ Go 
and look in the wagon.' They turned, and there, 
asleep in the straw, lay his little boy. As they laid 
the mangled form of the hero in his grave, no one 
said, ' The sacrifice is too great.’ ” 

It was his little boy asleep in the wagon that caused 
this father to sacrifice his life. He was not thinking 
about the value of the team or the wagon ; his little boy 
was on his heart. He was entirely oblivious to danger, 
and willing, if necessary, to die to save his little boy 
asleep in the straw. Did he make too great a sacri- 
fice? Nobody will say he did. But there are boys, 
worth just as much as this boy, who are near us con- 
tinually. They may not be our boys, but they are 
somebody’s boys. Is it putting it too strong, or mak- 
ing an extreme statement, to say that we should put 
forth as earnest efforts to save eternally in heaven the 
sQuls of the lost as this father put forth to save his 
boy from being killed ? It is this consecrated, personal 
work to which the Spirit leads us. If all members of 
the church had this yearning of heart to see souls 
saved, many more would be brought to Christ. Spirit- 
filled Christians who are willing to die if thereby they 
can save souls, are the church’s greatest need. 


14 


210 The Ministry of the Spirit 

There is a great deal in being warm-hearted and 
manifesting personal interest in others. Sociability 
and warm-heartedness will go a long way in winning 
them to Christ. Many young people can be won in 
this way. Our teaching and admonitions should not 
fall like hard gravel, but like the gentle rain. I fear 
that our efforts are sometimes like those of the man 
who, wishing to rescue another that had fallen into a 
pond, and was about to be drowned, held out to him 
the icy end of a plank. The drowning man tried re- 
peatedly to get hold and save himself, but finally cried, 
in despair, “ For God’s sake give me the other end of 
the plank! This end is icy.” We need to be sure 
that in our efforts to save the lost we do not hold out 
to them the icy end of the plank, but get in warm, 
personal touch with them. 

The need of heeding the voice of the Spirit and do- 
ing personal work for souls was deeply impressed on 
the mind of the writer by the following incident : — 

“ A minister was called to conduct the funeral serv- 
ices of a young girl who was a stranger to him. He 
went to her Sunday school superintendent and asked, 
'Was Minnie a Christian?’ 'Really, I don’t know,’ 
replied the superintendent. ' She attended Sunday 
school for several years, and I often thought that 
I would ask her, but never did.’ Then the minister 
called on the mother, and repeated the question, ' Was 
Minnie a Christian ? ’ 'I don’t know,’ replied the 
weeping woman. ‘ She went to Sunday school, and I 
thought the teacher and the superintendent ought to 
talk to her. I never seemed to be able to say any- 
thing to her on the subject.’ ” 


Personal Soul Winning 211 

Should a circumstance like the preceding be possible 
in any church? — Surely not. But I have wondered 
if a condition similar to this exists in any of our 
churches. If one of the children in our churches 
should die, would the Sabbath-school teacher or church 
officers know at the funeral whether he was a Chris- 
tian or not? We may know that a child comes from a 
Sabbath-keeping home and attends Sabbath school, but 
that does not make him a Christian. Young people 
need a change of heart. They must be converted to be 
saved. I believe we are under the most sacred obli- 
gations to God to find out the spiritual condition of 
those in our churches, and to labor personally to bring 
them to Christ^ Sometime the Lord will ask us where 
the beautiful flock is which he gave us, and we shall 
have to render an account to him for their souls. The 
following from a little book, “ The Master Work- 
man,” shows the sad consequence of the neglect of 
personal work: — 

Mrs. Barney, the prison worker, went to a certain 
city to speak. She was met at the railway station by 
a lady who was to entertain her. She went to the 
home of her hostess in an old rattletrap carriage 
driven by a red-nosed young man. When Mrs. Bar- 
ney stepped inside the door of the home, her hostess 
apologized for the appearance of carriage and driver, 
explaining that she did not feel free to employ any 
other, and said, ' O Mrs. Barney, will you not kneel 
here with me and pray for thkt driver?’ After the 
prayer she told Mrs. Barney the story. Several years 
before, she had been given a class of five boys in the 
Sunday school of her church. These boys had been 


212 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


gathered in from the streets. She thought it her duty 
to entertain them by telling them stories during the 
lesson hour; and when the matter of their personal 
salvation would be pressed home on her, she would say, 

' O, that isn’t my business! That’s the pastor’s work.’ 
After a time she moved to another city and was com- 
pelled to give up her class. During her residence in 
that city she came to a new vision of Christ. Then 
she began to realize that she had lost a golden oppor- 
tunity in that she had neglected to teach the Bible in 
such a way as to lead those boys to a personal knowl- 
edge of Christ. Five years afterward she returned to 
the city and inquired for her boys. No one in the 
church knew anything about them. One day she found 
this young man driving a cab, and he was under the 
influence of liquor. When she asked him about the 
other boys, he said, ‘ O lady, two of us is dead, and 
two of us in prison, and I’m the only one left.’ She 
begged him to sign the pledge and become a Christian, 
but he said, ‘ No, lady ; there was a time when I would 
have done anything for you, but it’s too late now — too 
late now.’ ” 

Two dead, two in prison, and one a drunken cab 
driver, and all lost forever! What a sad awakening 
this for a teacher I There was a time when this teacher 
could have done anything with those five boys, but 
she neglected them. The Spirit impressed her, but she 
did not listen. She taught them, but did no personal 
work for them spiritually. She lost her opportunity. 
To see five souls forever lost who might have been in 
paradise had we spoken to them about their souls 
would be a terrible spectacle. Is it possible there are 


P ersonal 'Soul Winning 2 IS 

any who once sat in our churches who are now away 
from Christ, perhaps beyond our reach forever, be- 
cause we failed to labor personally for their salvation? 
The possibility of this should nerve us to greater en- 
deavors for the future. We need more of the power 
of the Holy Spirit to hold those already in the church, 
as well as to bring others to Christ. 

Another incident taken from this same book serves 
to press home this lesson : — 

“ During the great simultaneous revival campaign in 
the city of Philadelphia, Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, at a 
noonday meeting in the Garrick Theater, read a letter 
from a well-known evangelist in which he said that 
while conducting a morning meeting in a certain city 
a tramp came in and sat down in a pew. During the 
service this tramp stood up and said : ‘ My father and 
mother used to sit in this pew. It is the first church 
I ever attended. My father was an officer in this 
church. Seven boys used to sit in this pew in the 
Sunday school class. We had a great love and re- 
spect for our teacher. Saturday afternoons she invited 
us to her home for an entertainment of music, eatables, 
and a look over the lessons. After a while, being anx- 
ious to please us and hold us, she brought out a pack 
of cards and taught us the names of the different cards. 
None of us had ever used cards, but we became en- 
thusiastic over them, and soon learned the game. Then 
we said, “ Do not give so much time to the lesson, but 
let us have more time for playing cards, and teach us 
some more tricks.” After a while we got a pack of our 
own and were off in the cotton gins playing cards, and 
not going to her home. Later we failed to go to 


214 


The Ministry of the Spirit 

Sunday school. Cards and cigarettes were followed 
by drink and gambling. We all, at different times, 
left our homes. Two of these boys have been hanged, 
three are in State prison for life, one is a vagabond 
like myself. No one knows where he is; and if the 
authorities knew I were here, I should be arrested and 
put behind the bars. All I wish is that that teacher 
had never taught us to play cards.’ 

'' As he stood there broken-hearted, a lady near the 
pulpit, dressed in mourning, arose, went to where the 
man was, fell on the floor and said, ‘ O God, I am the 
Sunday-school teacher who did it.’ She fainted, but 
revived, and was not seen in the meeting again.” 

It would be a terrible experience, would it not, to 
have a tramp come like that into one of our churches, 
and tell how he used to sit in the pew with his parents, 
and attend the Sabbath school, but because of the 
absence of the Spirit in the life of the teacher, or be- 
cause of her lack of personal interest in him, he was 
now a vagabond, hunted through the earth by the po- 
lice. This possibility ought to startle us and arouse us 
to the need of a deeper infilling of the Holy Spirit for 
service. Of course we do not play cards, and would 
not teach others to do that, but there may be some- 
thing else in our lives that is exerting a wrong influ- 
ence and leading souls away from Christ. There is 
a solemn appeal in this to us as Christians to put forth 
untiring personal effort for every sinner, and for every 
member in the church and Sabbath school in whose 
life the spiritual taper burns but dimly. 

The story is told of a famous statue in the Fine Arts 
Gallery in Paris. It was the work of a man who, like 


Personal Soul Winning 


215 


many other geniuses, had struggled with poverty. His 
room in a garret served for both studio and sleeping 
room. “ One midnight, when the statue was just fin- 
ished, a sudden frost fell upon Paris. The sculptor 
lay awake in his fireless garret and thought of the still 
moist clay, thought how the moisture in the pores 
would freeze, and the dream of his life would be de- 
stroyed in a night. So the old man arose from his cot, 
wrapped his bedclothes reverently about the statue, and 
then lay down to sleep. In the morning the neighbors 
found him lying dead. His life had gone out into his 
work.” 

Such devotion to duty on the part of Christians 
would result in the salvation of many souls. We need 
to cry to God for a greater measure of the Holy Spirit 
for service, that under his divine guidance we may go 
forth as personal soul winners for Christ in a world 
filled with lost human beings. 


CHAPTER XXXI 


CONCLUSION 

T he great threefold message of Revelation 14 is 
world-wide. It goes to every nation, tongue, and 
people under heaven, and the whole earth is lightened 
with its glory. It is to be proclaimed, not in whispered 
tones, but with a loud voice. Beginning in weakness, 
it increases in strength, until, clothed with the pan- 
oply of heavenly glory and power, it reaches earth’s 
remotest bounds, and the mystery of God is finished. 
“ And after these things I saw another angel come 
down from heaven, having great power ; and the earth 
was lightened with his glory.” Rev. 18: i. 

This angel brings no new message, for there is to 
be no other message. This threefold message is the 
last message. It begins with the proclamation of the 
judgment, continues till the end, and closes with the 
coming of the Son of man to reap the harvest of 
the earth. The angel of Revelation 18 comes from the 
courts of heaven, girt with power, and with a com- 
mission to descend to earth to unite his voice with the 
third angel and give power to his message/’ No other 
message is to arise; “it is the third angel’s message, 
which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and at- 
tended with the outpouring of his Spirit in large meas- 
ure.” The latter rain is to fall; the loud cry of the 
message is to be heard. “ Mighty miracles were 
wrought, the sick were healed, and signs and wonders 
[216] 


Conclusion 


217 


followed the believers. ... I saw that this [message] 
will close with power and strength far exceeding the 
midnight cry. Servants of God, endowed with power 
from on high, with their faces lighted up and shining 
with holy consecration, went forth to proclaim the 
message from heaven .” — ‘'Early Writings'' {old edi- 
tion), .page 13^. 

This message is the most solemn and searching ever 
proclaimed to man. It contains the most terrible warn- 
ing men have ever been commissioned of God to bear, 
or that ever fell on human ears. It threatens the wrath 
of Jehovah unmixed with mercy. It brings to view the 
solemn hour when our Mediator, having finished his 
work, lays down his censer and puts off his priestly 
vestments forever; when probation for the lost race 
is ended, and the sweet voice of mercy, which has ever 
been pleading with sinners to repent, is heard no more. 
Then, clothed with sovereign power and authority, the 
Redeemer comes to gather home his chosen people. 
The proud and stately nations, which have boasted of 
their strength, are overthrown forever. The wicked 
are slain, and darkness as gross as before the Al- 
mighty's fiat gave birth to light, envelops the earth. 
Such are some of the transcendency great and awful 
scenes which are brought to view in connection with 
this message. Indescribable scenes of woe, and great 
struggles with the powers of darkness, are just before 
us. To cope successfully with the things here brought 
to view, and to finish the work committed to us, will 
require no ordinary bestowment of divine power. 

The Lord is coming in this generation. His coming 
cannot be much longer delayed. And is not the set 


218 The Ministry of the Spirit 

time surely here for God to favor Zion by bestowing 
upon her the power of his Holy Spirit? Why should 
the bountiful outpouring of the Spirit be longer with- 
held? A power from beneath is seizing fast hold of 
all Satan’s agencies. Should not the mighty power 
of God be seen upon his servants, enabling them to 
complete the work given them, and thus end the pro- 
longed controversy? Today, as truly as in apostolic 
days, the rain of the Holy Spirit is needed by the peo- 
ple of God. 

It is true that we have a great and wonderful sys- 
tem of truth. But this of itself is not sufficient to 
save us or to fit us for service. The disciples had been 
with the Saviour during the years of his ministry. 
But this did not qualify them to go out to labor. 
Though the world was sunk in iniquity, and perish- 
ing, he bade them wait. How long? — Tarry ye in 
the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power 
from on high.” They sought God. They humbled 
their hearts, and by confession put away their sins. 

“ The holy imction must come upon the servants of 
God. All who were fully identified as disciples of 
Christ and associated with the apostles as evangelists, 
assembled together at Jerusalem. They put away all 
differences. They continued with one accord in prayer 
and supplication, that they might receive the fulfillment 
of the promise of the Holy Spirit; for they were to 
preach the gospel in the demonstration of the Spirit 
and in the power of God. . . . This is the very course 
that should be pursued by those who act a part in the 
work of proclaiming the coming of the Lord in the 
clouds of heaven .” — Gospel Workers/' page j/o. 


Conclusion 


219 


Having received this holy unction from on high, 
they went forth on their mission. Men quailed before 
the truth spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit. 
Hard, stony hearts were changed, and dark, stormy, 
sinful passions were subdued. Thousands were con- 
verted. The purse strings of the believers were loosed, 
and funds came in to carry on the work. Even the 
iron monarchy of Rome yielded before the power of 
the message which they delivered. Being filled with 
the Spirit of God, they went forth conquering and to 
conquer.” 

No people could have greater incentives to seek God 
for his Holy Spirit than those who believe this mes- 
sage. This message means the end of sin and sorrow, 
and the final rest in the kingdom of God. 

Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones (chap. 
37: 1-12) illustrates what can be accomplished through 
the power of the Holy Spirit. Though this scripture 
no doubt has special reference to the resurrection of 
the dead at the last day, it contains a lesson as well 
for those who are dead in trespasses and sins. In this 
vision is represented the ruined state of humanity. 
Being alienated from the life of God, they are with- 
out life. “ Can these bones live ? ” Humanly speak- 
ing, this seems impossible. There is no sign of life; 
for the bones are “ very dry,” a piece here, and a piece 
there. Here is a condition before which human phi- 
losophy and church federation can only stand helpless. 
What can worldly power do in a condition like this? 
— Nothing. But the Spirit of God enters into the dry 
bones, and, behold, they live, an exceeding great 
army,” the whole house of Israel. 


220 


The Ministry of the Spirit 


In the church today are many without the breath of 
the Spirit of life, mere skeletons, so to speak. Their 
only hope of spiritual existence is in receiving the vi- 
talizing power of the Holy Spirit. But this awaits our 
demand and reception. Now, as never before, we 
should reverently bow, with great humility of soul and 
confession of sin, upon the insulating stool of power, 
asking that the heavenly current, fresh from the throne 
of God, may fill our very being. 

“ The declaration in his intercessory prayer, that the 
Father’s love is as great toward us as toward him- 
self, the only begotten Son, and that we shall be with 
him where he is, forever one with Christ and the Fa- 
ther, is a marvel to the heavenly host, and it is their 
great joy. The gift of his Holy Spirit, rich, full, and 
abundant, is in his church as an encompassing wall 
of fire, which the powers of hell shall not prevail 
against.” / 

“ Breathe on me, Breath of God, 

Fill me with life anew, 

That I may love what thou dost love, 

And do what thou wouldst do. 

“ Breathe on me, Breath of God. 

Until my heart is pure, 

Until with thee I will one will, 

To do and to endure. 

“ Breathe on me. Breath of God, 

Blend all my soul with thine, 

Until this earthly part of me 
Glows with thy fire divine.” 

In his “ Quiet Hour Talks,” Mr. S. D. Gordon tells 
about a little town somewhere in the mountains. The 
citizens ran a pipe up the hills to a lake. “ As a result, 
the town enjoyed a bountiful supply of water the year 


Conclusion 


221 


round without being dependent upon the rainfall, which 
is very slight there. The population increased, and the 
place had a regular Western boom. One morning the 
housewives turned the water spigots, but no water 
came. There was some sputtering — there is apt to be 
a noise when there is nothing else. The men climbed 
the hill. There was the lake as full as ever. They 
examined the pipes as thoroughly as possible, but could 
find no break. Try as they might, they could find no 
cause for the stoppage. And as days grew into weeks, 
people began moving away; the grass grew in the 
streets, and the prosperous town was going back to its 
olJ sleepy condition, when one day one of the town 
officials received a note. It was ungrammatical and 
poorly written, and the spelling was incorrect; but he 
never cared less about spelling and grammar than just 
then. It said, in effect, ‘ Ef you’ll jes’ pull the plug 
out of the pipe about eight inches from the top, you’ll 
get all the water you want.’ The officials started for 
the top of the hill, dug into the pipe, and found the 
plug which some vicious tramp had inserted, — not a 
very big plug, just big enough to fill the pipe. Out 
came the plug; down came the water freely; and by 
and by prosperity came back again.” 

The Spirit of God is free. David prayed that he 
might be upheld by the “ free Spirit.” It awaits our 
demand and reception. In answer to earnest prayer, 
the promised blessing will come. Now, as in days of 
old, the Lord will reveal himself to his people. If the 
blessing is withheld, it is for us to search out the cause 
and remove the obstacle. Then the water from God’s 
great reservoir will flow in an abundant stream. 


222 The Ministry of the Spirit 

Should we not, like our Master, go forth “ in the 
power of the Spirit ”? Pompey is said to have boasted 
that, with one stamp of his foot, he could arouse all 
Italy to arms. But with us is the great and mighty 
God, who, with one word, can summon the inhabitants 
of heaven and unfallen worlds to his aid, and is able 
to bring new creatures into being to do his will. 
There is nothing too hard for him. 

When a lecturer wishes to show an example of a 
human body surcharged with electricity, he places 
some one on a stool with glass legs, to isolate him from 
the earth, and then turns on the electric current. You 
see no fire ; you hear no noise. But presently you are 
asked to come near and hold your hand close to the 
person on the stool. When you do this, you see sparks 
of fire shoot out toward you. In like manner, the 
fire of God’s Spirit should surcharge us, so that those 
with whom we come in contact will feel a mysterious, 
invisible power drawing them away from earth to 
heaven. 

Great deeds of valor for the cause of God have 
been wrought by those clothed with the Spirit. Out 
of weakness they have been made strong. Irresolu- 
tion and indecision have vanished, and they have un- 
flinchingly endured privations, calumny, and persecu- 
tion. Being valiant in fight, they have turned to flight 
the armies of aliens. They “ went forth conquering 
and to conquer.” With the might of omnipotence 
God worked through them to make the gospel tri- 
umphant. 

Shall we not enter into the closet, shut the door, 
and there, isolated before the throne of God, await 


Conclusion 


223 


the promised baptism of the Spirit, that we may labor 
and battle against the powers of darkness, not in our 
own strength, but in demonstration of the Spirit and 
of power ”? I Cor. 2 : 4. 

“ O for that flame of living fire 

Which shone so bright in saints of old; 

Which bade their souls to heaven aspire, 

Calm in distress, in danger bold ! 

“ Where is that Spirit, Lord, which dwelt 
In Abram’s breast, and sealed him thine? 

Which made Paul’s heart with sorrow melt. 

And glow with energy divine? — 

“ That Spirit which from age to age 

Proclaimed thy love, and taught thy ways? 
Brightened Isaiah’s vivid page, 

And breathed in David’s hallowed lays? 

“Is not thy grace as mighty now 
As when Elijah felt its power? 

When glory beamed from Moses’ brow, 

Or Job endured the trying hour? 

“Remember, Lord, the ancient days; 

Renew thy work, thy grace restore; 

And while to thee our hearts we raise. 

On us thy Holy Spirit pour.” 


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